Body Positive

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Abstract
Four women who had previously undergone extensive treatment for an eating disorder but continued to have persistent body image disturbances participated in a new body image therapy program, called the Body Positive program. This project was conceptualized as a pilot study in which all participants were treated using the same protocol. There was no control group. Participants underwent pre- and post- treatment assessment that measured indices such as: body size estimation, depression, anxiety, body dissatisfaction, and eating disorder symptoms. The treatment consisted of 16 total sessions and was conducted on an outpatient basis over a 20-week period. The treatment implemented in this study was based on a cognitive-behavioral conceptualization. Components of the treatment were: relaxation and rebreathing training, self-monitoring, cognitive-behavioral treatment for body image concerns, mirror exposure (involving in- session and homework exposure to the body), behavioral exposure, and relapse prevention. Treatment efficacy was evaluated by changes in the outcome measures from pretreatment to posttreatment. Results indicated an overall improvement for all four participants in the areas of depression, state and trait anxiety, and body dissatisfaction. In addition, improvement was found for eating disorder symptoms such as; binge eating, purging, fear of fatness, restrictive eating, and avoidance of fear foods. These preliminary findings suggest that body image therapy can be used to effectively treat persistent weight/shape concerns in persons who have partially recovered from an eating disorder.