Development and Pilot Testing of a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Digital Service for Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Sabine Wilhelm, Hilary Weingarden, Jennifer L. Greenberg, Thomas H. McCoy, Ilana Ladis, Berta J. Summers, Aleksandar Matic, Oliver Harrison
2019 Behavior Therapy  
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) has a severe presentation and chronic course when untreated. Although effective BDD treatments exist, most individuals do not have access to them. We therefore developed and pilot tested the first smartphone-delivered individual cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) treatment for adults with BDD. The digital service was developed via user-centered design, integrating input from engineering, design, and psychology experts, plus BDD patient consultants. We conducted a
more » ... 2-week open pilot trial (N = 10) to describe preliminary results for feasibility, acceptability, and treatment outcome. Attrition rates (0%) and feedback on usability and satisfaction indicated that smartphone-based CBT for BDD may be feasible, acceptable, and satisfactory. Initial results suggest that smartphone-based CBT for BDD may hold promise for improving BDD symptom severity, BDD-related insight, functional impairment, and quality of life, as scores from baseline to posttreatment improved with large-to-very large effects; depression improved with a medium effect. Ninety percent of participants were responders at posttreatment and 3-month follow-up. Smartphone-based CBT for BDD may have strong potential as a standardized, low cost, and accessible treatment for this debilitating illness. A test of efficacy is merited as a next step, using a well-powered, randomized control trial design.
doi:10.1016/j.beth.2019.03.007 pmid:32005333 fatcat:sv6iwjerqvd55bwhadxrl43u3e