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Adapting Exposure for Adolescent AN

Sponsor: Milton S. Hershey Medical Center • ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT07188155

Registry updated: 2026-10-20

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Description

This pilot study is evaluating Exposure Therapy (Exp-AN) as a virtual treatment for adolescents (ages 14 - 17 years) with anorexia nervosa (AN) recruited from eating disorder clinic waitlists and clinician referrals at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) (8 participants per site). Adolescents who agree to take part in this study will receive 20 free virtual 40-60 minute weekly Exp-AN sessions at an outpatient level of care. Exp-AN for adolescents will combine individual virtual session time (35-50 min) with parent involvement (10-25 min). Parents will serve as "collaborators," supporting skill development, exposure completion, and treatment goal achievement. Exp-AN sessions will focus on helping participants overcome anxiety about weight gain by encouraging them to do challenging things that increase anxiety in the short term but help them better tolerate anxiety over the long term. Participants will be asked to complete a clinical interview, questionnaires, and labs and vitals testing before they begin the study. Adolescents will also complete questionnaires and participate in 15-min semi-structured interviews, while parents/caregivers will complete separate parallel interviews, at: mid-treatment, end-of-treatment, and 3-month follow-up. To ensure that all participants are receiving the same type of therapy, they will not be able to have any concurrent psychotherapy while receiving this treatment (other forms of care including dieticians, nutritionists, and psychiatrists are allowed). Exp-AN is designed to target anxiety about weight gain. Exp-AN includes education about the effects of undereating; the importance of overcoming anxiety about weight gain; in-session weight exposures (e.g., stepping on a scale while reading a script describing fears about weight gain); creating a meal plan to help improve eating; reviewing eating behaviors over the past week; conducting in-session and between-session exposures that help participants face fears related to weight gain; and relapse prevention.

Interventions

Exposure Therapy for Anorexia (Exp-AN) (Behavioral)
Exp-AN is specifically designed to target anxiety about weight gain. Exp-AN helps participants identify their specific feared consequences of weight gain (e.g., "I will permanently hate myself if I gain weight"), and combines in vivo (i.e., in real life) and imaginal (i.e., mental) exposure exercises to address these fears.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria: * Has a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (AN) * English speaking * Mentally stable for an outpatient level of care * Living with at least one parent/caregiver * Experienced significant weight loss as determined by the local principal investigator at each enrolling local site Exclusion Criteria: * Younger than 12 years old or older than 17 years old * Has a current psychotherapist and not open to pausing treatment for the duration of the study * Has a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa or binge-eating disorder * Acutely suicidal * Pregnant * Meets DSM-5 criteria for a psychotic disorder and/or has an intellectual disability * Non-English speaking

Conditions

Anorexia Nervosa

Locations

Penn State College of Medicine — Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States

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Official Source

Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

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