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Symposia

Eating Disorders

Session: Translating Treatments for Anxiety to Eating Disorders

5 - (SYM 88) Investigation of a Novel Web-tool, Exposurepedia, to Facilitate the Use of Exposure Therapy for Eating Disorders

Saturday, November 18, 2023
2:30 PM – 4:00 PM PST
Location: Chelan (401), Level 4
Background: There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that eating disorders can be conceptualized as anxiety-based disorders, driven by fears related to the consequences of eating and/or weight gain, among other fears (Schaumberg et al., 2021; Brown & Levinson, 2022). As such, exposure therapy may be an effective treatment for eating disorders (Butler & Heimberg, 2020). However, few clinicians utilize exposure-based treatments in practice, and many hold negative beliefs about the use of exposure therapy for eating disorders (Becker-Haimes et al., 2017; Waller et al., 2016). As the evidence grows, tools aimed to facilitate the use of exposure in the treatment of eating disorders are needed to increase its implementation. One such tool, Exposurepedia, aims to increase the usability of exposure therapy by providing a large number of specific exposure ideas and resources to clinicians.

Methods: The current study is recruiting clinicians (target N = 30) who work with patients with eating disorders to participate in a naturalistic pilot trial of Exposurepedia. The study examines 1) the feasibility of adapting a web-tool designed for clinicians working with anxiety disorders for use by eating disorder clinicians, 2) adoption, acceptability, and experience using the tool, and 3) clinician perception of the tool’s utility in simplifying the use of exposure therapy for eating disorders. Finally, we measure whether access to Exposurepedia increases the frequency of use of exposure therapy with clients with eating disorders. Clinicians complete questionnaires at baseline, weekly for a four-week trial period of Exposurepedia, and at the end of the trial period.

Results: Adaptation of the tool was feasible; 153 exposure ideas with accompanying suggestions for modifications were generated, and no changes from the anxiety-disorder format of the web-tool were needed. Results of the pilot examining adoption, clinician perception of utility, and change in frequency of exposure therapy use will be presented.

Discussion: Findings have implications for the adaptation of tools used to implement exposure therapy for anxiety disorders to the eating disorders. Our results show that a tool designed to facilitate the use of exposure therapy for anxiety disorders can be easily expanded to include exposures for eating disorders. Results from the current study will inform future research on increasing the use of exposure therapy for eating disorders through clinician-facing web-tools. Implications of results from the pilot trial will be discussed.