Multifamily Guided Self-Help Family-Based Treatment (MF-GSH-FBT) (MF-GSH-FBT)

October 20, 2023 updated by: Aileen Whyte, Stanford University

Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy of an Online Multifamily Guided Self-Help Family-Based Treatment (FBT) Group for Parents of Adolescents With Anorexia

This is a study testing whether an online Multifamily Guided Self-Help Family Based Treatment (FBT) for Anorexia Nervosa in adolescents aged 12 to 17 is acceptable and useful to families. This online Multifamily Guided Self-Help version of FBT consists of 12 weekly 60-minute telemedicine groups made up of parents from 4-5 families of young people with AN, coupled with access to an online guided self-help platform over the course of 6 months. The feasibility of online Guided Self-Help Family-Based Treatment for Anorexia is unknown, and the investigators hope to identify an adequate treatment for those who do not have access to in-person FBT.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

Previous research has shown that Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is an effective treatment for Anorexia Nervosa. In the first Phase of FBT, parents are encouraged to take charge of the process of renourishing their child with Anorexia. Then, once the young person with Anorexia becomes better nourished and is managing to eat in a more sustainable way, the treatment moves to Phase 2. In Phase 2 of FBT, the focus is on helping parents to step back and support their child to regain their independence around eating. Once this happens, the treatment moves to Phase 3, where the family begins to move forward with their lives in a normal way, no longer focused on the eating disorder.

The investigators hope to learn whether an adaptation of FBT, called online Multi-Family Guided Self-Help FBT, is feasible and acceptable for families of young people with Anorexia.

The 'Self-Help' aspect of the treatment consists of a series of educational videos about how to help a child with Anorexia, which parents watch on an online platform. The 'Multifamily' and 'Guided' aspects of the treatment consists of weekly meetings by Zoom for a group of parents of young people with Anorexia, with a facilitator present to guide a group discussion around whether parents feel they understood the content of the videos and whether the content is helpful.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

17

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

    • California
      • Palo Alto, California, United States, 94304
        • Stanford University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

12 years to 17 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Adolescent participants are 12-17 years of age
  2. Adolescent participants live with a family (some families may contain only one parent)
  3. Family members fluently speak and read English and have access to a computer with internet
  4. Adolescent participants meet DSM-5 criteria for AN
  5. Adolescent participants' IBW above 75%
  6. Adolescent participants are medically stable for outpatient treatment according to the recommended thresholds of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Society of Adolescent Medicine

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Associated physical illness in any form that necessitates hospitalization of the adolescent with Anorexia
  2. Psychotic illness in any form, mental retardation, autism, or any other mental illness in the adolescent or parents/ carers that would interfere with the use of psychotherapy.
  3. Current dependence on drugs or alcohol in adolescent or parents.
  4. Physical conditions (e.g. diabetes mellitus, pregnancy) in adolescent known to influence eating or weight
  5. Participants and family members do not have an adequate understanding of spoken English and are not able to speak and read English in order to participate in family therapy and the assessments.
  6. Current weight is less than 75% of expected weight given age and height.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Multifamily Guided Self-Help Family-Based Treatment (MF-GSH-FBT)
Treatment consists of up to 12 once-weekly online group sessions, where groups are made up of parents from 4-5 different families of young people with Anorexia. Group sessions will last approximately 50-60 minutes. Prior to each group session, parents watch recorded videos about how parents can help their child with Anorexia. Only parents, and not the young person with Anorexia, attend the group sessions.
Previous research has shown that Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is an effective treatment for Anorexia. We hope to learn whether an adaptation of Family-Based Treatment (FBT), called online Multi-Family Guided Self-Help FBT, is feasible and acceptable for families of young people with Anorexia. The 'Self-Help' aspect of the treatment consists of a series of educational videos for parents about how to help their child with Anorexia, which parents watch on an online platform. The 'Multifamily' and 'Guided' aspects of the treatment consists of weekly meetings by Zoom for a group of parents of young people with Anorexia, with a facilitator present to guide a group discussion around whether parents feel they understood the content of the videos and whether the content is helpful.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Recruitment Rate
Time Frame: Assessed through the end of recruitment (about one year)
Number of participants enrolled in the study per month.
Assessed through the end of recruitment (about one year)
Number of Treatment Sessions Attended
Time Frame: Through end of treatment (up to approximately 4 months)
Through end of treatment (up to approximately 4 months)
Treatment Retention Rate
Time Frame: Through end of treatment (up to approximately 4 months)
The count of participants who did not stop treatment before finishing the 12-session parent groups
Through end of treatment (up to approximately 4 months)
Treatment Acceptability as Measured by Helping Alliance Questionnaire
Time Frame: Through end of treatment (up to approximately 4 months)
The Helping Alliance Questionnaire (HAQ) is an 11-item questionnaire that measures the quality of the therapist-patient relationship and will be completed by parents.
Through end of treatment (up to approximately 4 months)
Treatment Acceptability as Measured by Therapy Suitability and Patient Expectancy questionnaire
Time Frame: Through end of treatment (up to approximately 4 months)
The Therapy Suitability and Patient Expectancy (TSPE) measures perceptions of the suitability and expectancy of the treatment provided and will be rated by parents.
Through end of treatment (up to approximately 4 months)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Eating Disorder Cognitions
Time Frame: Baseline and EOT (up to approximately 4 months)
Eating Disorder Examination (EDE): This is a standardized measure that measures the severity of the characteristic psychopathology of eating disorders. It is to be administered by assessor to the adolescent with Anorexia at baseline and EOT.
Baseline and EOT (up to approximately 4 months)
Expected Body Weight
Time Frame: Baseline and EOT (up to approximately 4 months)
Expected Body Weight (EBW) percentages for the adolescent with Anorexia will be calculated using Center for Disease Control metrics in children and adolescents.
Baseline and EOT (up to approximately 4 months)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Aileen Whyte, Ph.D., Stanford University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 20, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

July 20, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 21, 2022

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 30, 2022

First Posted (Actual)

July 6, 2022

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

October 23, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 20, 2023

Last Verified

October 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 62251

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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