The study is a pilot randomized controlled trial that aims to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of weekly MIT in addiction to CBT-F in a group of adults diagnosed with ED. Specifically, the investigators will investigate in a sample of non-underweight adults presenting with ED whether once compared to CBT-E, a treatment combining MIT and CBT-F is a) feasible, b) well-tolerated and c) potentially effective on eating disorders symptoms and other outcomes.~The investigators expect that the experimental group CBT-F+MIT would be able to have high treatment adherence and retention on the ground of previous studies of MIT for personality disorders. They will also expect good outcomes in the primary outcome. Given the small sample this is just a pilot study so any conclusions about other outcomes will be considered preliminary. Results will provide new evidence that may lead to consider CBT-F+MIT a treatment option for ED deserving investigations in larger trials.
Eating disorders (ED) are severe but treatable conditions, but there are large margin for improvements in terms of efficacy and adherence. There is room to explore new treatment options who are either more capable to retain patients in therapy, more effective. Alternative their efficacy may match the ones of current available treatments but offer new options to ones that did not respond to available therapies. Here the investigators explored if a combination of CBT-focused plus Metacognitive Interpersonal Therapy (MIT) is an empirically supported therapy for personality disorders and could be a new viable treatment option for non-underweight ED. MIT targets some aspects of ED such as poor awareness of mental states and maladaptive interpersonal schemas that are not included in the transdiagnostic model underlying the most investigated empirically supported treatment for ED that is CBT-E. It is reasonable therefore that targeting these aspects of psychopathology can be a path to treatment adherence and effectiveness