Bulimia Online: a randomised controlled trial investigating the effectiveness of an online automated self-help and therapist-assisted treatment program for bulimia nervosa

This thesis reports on a randomised controlled trial of 'Bulimia Online': a 12-week online cognitive behavioural treatment program for bulimia nervosa. Fifty-nine participants meeting diagnostic criteria for bulimia nervosa were randomly allocated to either Bulimia Online with therapist-assistance (n = 20), Bulimia Online without therapist-assistance (i.e. automated self-help) (n = 21) or a wait-list control condition (n = 19). Participants were assessed at pre-treatment, post-treatment and 3-month follow-up. Intention to treat analyses revealed that the Bulimia Online program was not superior to a WLC condition for any measures. Participants felt that Bulimia Online was a credible treatment option and reported high levels of satisfaction with the intervention, in addition to high levels of working alliance with their eTherapist. The results of this study suggest that while BO is a potentially useful way of disseminating treatment, a larger research trial is needed.