Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Purging Disorder

Abstract

Purging disorder is an eating disorder subtype characterized by purging behaviors to control weight (i.e., self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives, diuretics, and/or other medications). It was recognized for the first time in the DSM-5 (2013) within the other specified feeding or eating disorder category. The lifetime prevalence of purging disorder is comparable to both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, placing it as a significant eating disorder phenotype. Purging disorder is symptomatologically similar to bulimia nervosa, except for the absence of binge eating episodes. However, despite the common features with other eating disorders, purging disorder appears as a clinically significant and potentially distinctive disorder. Therefore, the present chapter reviews and discusses the clinical and distinctiveness features of this disorder, as well as the treatments of first choice (i.e., cognitive-behavioral therapy). This chapter also highlights that studies on PD treatment outcomes are currently limited, available results are inconsistent, and evidence-based treatments are lacking.