Research on Shame and Eating Disorders Presented at National CBT Conference

Research on Shame & Eating Disorders Presented at National CBT Conference

CCI was recently represented at the 2024 National Conference for the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy (AACBT) by Senior Clinical Psychologist Dr Olivia Carter. The AACBT Conference provides an opportunity to engage with national and international thought leaders from across the family of the cognitive behavioural therapies, bringing together innovative clinical researchers and research clinicians working across the life span. Coming from research, community, and private practice settings, presenters explored recent evidence-based advances and emerging ideas in their fields for working with cognitions, behaviours, schemas, and emotions for common and complex psychological and health conditions.

 

We are proud to acknowledge the role of CCI’s Research Director, Professor Peter McEvoy, as the Director of National Conferences for AACBT. This is one of many ways in which team members at CCI actively engage in professional bodies that support the dissemination of research and professional development for professionals working in the field of psychology.

 

At the conference, Dr Carter presented a paper on behalf of the team at CCI exploring the contribution of shame to eating disorder treatment outcomes at our community mental health clinic. This demonstrated that people with eating disorders who have high levels of shame can benefit substantially from engaging in CBT for Eating Disorders (CBT-ED). We also found that individuals high in shame are just as likely to complete CBT-ED as individuals low in shame, and their eating disorder symptoms improve considerably. However, individuals low in shame tend to improve more, which helps to inform our thinking about how additional interventions that target high shame may enhance the benefits for those receiving CBT-ED. This paper, authored by Kenny et al. (2024), has recently been published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders and can be accessed in full online (The Contribution of Shame to Eating Disorder Treatment Outcomes in a Community Mental Health Clinic - Kenny - 2024 - International Journal of Eating Disorders - Wiley Online Library).

 

You can find out more about the research we conduct at CCI on our website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: 01/11/2024