Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: Children, Adolescents, and Adults

Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) is a common eating disorder diagnosis that describes children and adults who cannot meet their nutritional needs, typically because of sensory sensitivity, fear of adverse consequences and/or apparent lack of interest in eating or food. This book is the first of its kind to offer a specialist treatment, specifically for ARFID. Developed, refined and studied in response to this urgent clinical need, this book outlines a specialiZed cognitive-behavioral treatment: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (CBT-AR). This treatment is designed for patients across all age groups, supported by real-life case examples and tools to allow clinicians to apply this new treatment in their own clinical settings.

Table of Contents:
Dedication; List of figures; List of tables; Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. What is ARFID?; 2. Overview of existing treatments for feeding, eating, and anxiety disorders; 3. Assessment of ARFID; 4. Cognitive-behavioral model of ARFID; 5. Overview of CBT-AR; 6. Stage 1: Psychoeducation and early change; 7. Stage 2: treatment planning; 8. Stage 3: maintaining mechanisms in order of priority; 9. Stage 4: relapse prevention; 10. CBT-AR case examples; 11. Conclusion and future directions; Appendix 1: CBT-AR competence ratings; Appendix 2: CBT-AR adherence: session-by-session ratings; References; Index.

About the Author :
Jennifer Thomas is Co-director of the Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, and an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Kamryn Eddy is Co-director of the Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, and an Associate Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.

Review :
'This practical, accessible manual, written by two of the leading experts in the emerging avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) field, will be a very welcome addition to the clinician's library. I anticipate that it will quickly become a much used volume by anyone offering care and treatment to patents with this disorder. Until now there has been very little by way of guidance in terms of evidence based treatments specifically for ARFID. This clearly written book, based on sound theoretical principles, enables the outstanding skills, expertise and insights of its authors to be shared by a much wider audience, which can only benefit patient care.' Rachel Bryant-Waugh, Head of the Feeding and Eating Disorders Service, the Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (DCAMH), Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children 'It is rare that a newly conceptualized mental disorder is introduced into systems of nosology without an existing treatment approach with some evidence for efficacy; but, this was the case with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Now, from one of the leading eating disorders centers in the world comes a very well-conceived stage model of intervention that can be personalized for the individual patient, as well as the patient's family. Anyone treating eating disorders should find this new clinical manual invaluable.' David H. Barlow, Boston University 'Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) sounds a little less unfamiliar today than when it was introduced by DSM-5 only five years ago. Since then, a small cadre of clinical researchers has devoted considerable energy to explore treatments for this patient population. Thomas and Eddy have been leaders in this domain. Through their focused efforts, the authors have put together an extraordinarily helpful treatment manual that everyone who wants to learn more about ARFID, whether a treating clinician, curious trainee, or worried parent, would be well advised to consult. This clinician manual first provides the reader with an excellent psycho-educational overview of ARFID, before delineating the four stages of CBT-AR. The authors round out this manual by demonstrating their treatment approach by way of five elucidating clinical case examples. This book is a most welcome addition to the small family of clinical treatment manuals for eating disorders.' Daniel Le Grange, University of California, San Francisco 'As an ARFID advocate, author on the topic, and mother to a recovered child with ARFID, I couldn't be more thrilled with this book. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder is vital toward the education and treatment of ARFID. With comprehensive and detailed information, workable steps for treatment, and actual case studies, this book is desperately needed in the eating disorder community, and one that I wish had been available when our family was struggling to find answers. There is much to learn about ARFID, but this manual is a terrific starting point in helping clinicians, physicians, therapists, and even parents learn more about this very prevalent and very mysterious eating disorder that affects children and adults of all ages.' Stephanie Elliot, ARFID advocate, author of Sad Perfect 'This book is important. For the first time we have a detailed yet comprehensive account of how to treat patients with 'avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder'. The authors are to be congratulated on producing this invaluable resource.' Christopher G. Fairburn, University of Oxford