cognitive behavioral therapy Archives

Brazilian Eating Disorder Guidelines: CBT First for Bulimia and Binge Eating, Fewer Proven Options for Anorexia

by GLOOM

MHD card with an open glowing guideline book on a dark navy background, three colored pathways branching from its spine to three nodes, and stepped translucent evidence tiers at the right edge, illustrating eating disorder treatment guidelines.

New Brazilian Psychiatric Association guidelines put cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) first for bulimia and binge-eating disorder. When medication is needed, they recommend fluoxetine as an add-on for bulimia and lisdexamfetamine as the first-choice drug for binge-eating disorder. For anorexia, no single therapy has proven best, and drugs play only a small supporting role.1 Research Highlights …

Exercise Before CBT Raised Depression Remission to 69% in Pilot Trial

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for exercise priming before CBT in major depression.

A 40-person pilot trial found depression remission in 69% of adults who did 30 minutes of moderate exercise before individual CBT, compared with 33% of adults who did a calming pre-CBT activity.1 Compared with a broad “exercise boosts therapy” claim, acute exercise is a plausible priming step; the alliance and activation mechanisms still need a …

Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Perfectionism: r = 0.32 Meta-Analysis

by GLOOM

MHD featured image for body dysmorphic disorder and perfectionism meta-analysis.

A 2026 meta-analysis of 34 studies involving 13,107 participants found that body dysmorphic disorder symptoms and perfectionism were moderately correlated: r = .32, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.36, p < .001. The result supports perfectionism as a useful clinical clue in body dysmorphic disorder, but the estimate dropped to r = .09 after depression adjustment …

AVATAR Therapy vs CBT for Auditory Hallucinations

by GLOOM

AVATAR therapy ties CBT at end of treatment, edges ahead at 3-month follow-up, and uses half the sessions. The ‘better than CBT’ framing outpaces the formal statistics.

CBT-I: First-Line Insomnia Treatment Most People Don’t Get

by GLOOM

Stylized illustration representing CBT-I as a structured behavioral protocol for chronic insomnia, contrasted with sleep medication.

CBT-I beats sleep medications long-term and self-help versions work too. Sleep hygiene alone isn’t enough — the two are routinely conflated.

Bergen 4-Day Treatment (B4DT) Appears Effective for OCD in Adolescents (2024 Study)

by GLOOM

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in adolescents is a challenging condition, marked by intrusive thoughts and compulsive behaviors that significantly impair daily functioning. Recent studies have spotlighted the Bergen 4-Day Treatment (B4DT), an intensive, concentrated therapy approach showing promising outcomes in treating adolescents with OCD across various sites in Norway. This innovative method, comprising prolonged sessions of …

Bergen 4-Day Treatment (B4DT) for Social Anxiety Disorder: Effective with High Patient Satisfaction (2024 Study)

by GLOOM

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a debilitating condition that affects a significant portion of the population, characterized by a paralyzing fear of social situations. Recent studies have explored concentrated and intensified cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) methods, such as the Bergen 4-Day Treatment (B4DT), as innovative approaches to treating SAD. Highlights: High Efficacy: The B4DT has …