Uniting Couples in the Treatment of Binge-Eating Disorder

UNITE includes three stages: early treatment (psychoeducation and understanding the couple's experience of BED within the relationship); mid-treatment (effective communication, interpersonal problem-solving, and emotion regulation skills), and late treatment (relapse prevention). Additional relevant topics may be covered including body image, weight stigma, weight and health concerns, and intimacy and sexuality issues.

CBT-E includes four stages: an introductory stage (psychoeducation, normalization of eating patterns, and symptom self-monitoring); a second, brief stage (review progress and formulate plans for the subsequent treatment phase); a third stage (elimination of dieting, reducing shape checking and avoidance behaviors, educating about mood tolerance, and targeting overevaluation of shape and weight); and the fourth stage (maintaining progress and minimizing relapse risk).