Virtually delivered cognitive behavioural therapy for avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (CBT-AR): a case study in an adult with elevated autistic traits

ABSTRACT

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Avoidant and Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (CBT-AR; ARIFD) is a psychological treatment that targets many of the core symptoms of ARFID. Although a growing literature supports the efficacy of behavioural interventions for paediatric feeding and eating disorders, including ARFID, the applicability of these methods to adults remains undetermined. Telehealth delivery of CBT-AR in adults with autism has yet to be tested. With this study, we conduct a preliminary evaluation of CBT-AR delivered virtually to a 26-year-old white British female, with mixed ARFID and elevated autistic traits. She attended 23 remote CBT-AR sessions facilitated through a dedicated telehealth platform. Adjustments were made to accommodate her lived experience of neurodiversity. Using a pre-post treatment design, changes on measures of subjective goal attainment, eating-related and general psychosocial impairment, general anxiety, and depression were evaluated. Following treatment, the participant had made significant progress towards personally meaningful goals, with improvements observed in nutritional intake, general well-being, and reductions in eating-related psychosocial impairment and general anxiety. The results offer preliminary insights into acceptability and efficacy of virtual CBT-AR for neurodiverse individuals.

Acknowledgments

We want to thank K for their participation in this case study, and for consenting to a description of their outcomes and experiences to be shared. ‘K’ is a pseudonymous letter assigned to the participant to protect their anonymity. We would also like to thank Clare Lawrence for the supervision and support offered to Theoni throughout the process, and Rumina Taylor for reviewing and editing the draft manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Anonymised data pertaining to this study are available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10640266.2024.2346372

Additional information

Funding

No grant funding or contributions were sought.