• Education about the cycles of maladaptive behavior associated with the development and maintainance of binge eating.


• Self-monitoring of sensations of hunger and fullness as well as cues associated with the onset and termination of each eating episode


• Problem-solving to reduce episodes of binge eating and over-eating


• Relapse Prevention education

In an initial study, 29 women with binge-eating disorder were randomly assigned to 8 weeks of AAT or a waiting-list control group. For the week immediately following treatment, 64% of the AAT Ss reported no binges, compared with 11% of the control group. Overall, treated Ss averaged 0.7 binges per week compared with 5 binges per week for the control group. AAT Ss also reported grearer reductions in the urge to eat when food was present, to eat when experiencing negative emotions, and to eat when food was used as a reward. AAT Ss also reported greater reducctions in depression and social anxiety.

Obviously, additional studies and longer follow-ups are needed but this approach looks promising.

AAT materials (including client handouts, self-monitoring forms, problem-solving forms, and cognitive-restructuring forms) can be obtained for $5.00 (to cover costs) from Linda Craighead, Ph.D., Dept. of Psychology, University of Colorado at Boulder, Muenzinger Psychology Building, Campus Box 345, Boulder, CO 80309-0345.

Allen, H. N. & Craighead, L. W. (1999). Appetite monitoring in the treatment of binge eating disorder. Behavior Therapy, 30, 253-272.