Past Studies

Currently, the most promising treatment for adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa is Family Based Treatment (FBT). In this study, all participants will receive standard FBT for Anorexia Nervosa administered by trained psychologists free of charge to the family. If participants fail to show sufficient improvement by study parameters by session 4, they will be randomized to receive either FBT + Intensive Parental Coaching (IPC) or FBT as usual. Each patient, regardless of randomization, is offered up to 18 sessions over the course of 9 months. The adolescent will also earn $50 upon completion of the entire study for their participation.

Recruitment age range: 12-18 years of age

Key words: eating disorders, FBT, Anorexia Nervosa

There is an ongoing study being conducted at Stanford University comparing telemedicine family-based treatment (FBT) to an online guided self-help version of family-based treatment (FBTgsh). This study offers evidence-based treatment to adolescents with anorexia nervosa online and at no cost. All participants will receive one form of family-based treatment (FBT) for Anorexia Nervosa. Prior to starting treatment participants are randomized to participate in either of the following treatments:

• Guided Parental Self-Help Version of FBT (FBTgsh): consisting of 12 30-minute telemedicine treatment sessions with a trained clinician paired with an online platform that contains recorded lessons and resources.
• Telemedicine-based Standard FBT: consisting of 15 1-hour telemedicine treatment sessions with a trained clinician.

Both treatments are over the course of up to 6 months. This is then followed by a 3-month post-treatment assessment. All assessments (Baseline, End of treatment, 3-month post-treatment) are done via teleconferencing as well. Participants receive $35 upon completion of the study. We do not know the feasibility of Guided Self-Help for individuals and we hope to better identify an adequate treatment for those who do not have access to FBT in their communities.

Recruitment age range: 12-18 years of age

Key words: eating disorders, FBT, Telemedicine, Anorexia Nervosa

Who can participate?

• Women ages 18-35
• No metal in body or mouth hardware
• Able to speak English
• Able to come to 2 1-2-hour visits at Stanford

The study includes 2 appointments lasting between 1 and 2 hours, and you will be paid $50-150 for your participation.

Our five-year NIH sponsored study examines cognitive functioning of adolescent females with anorexia nervosa as compared to healthy controls, through neuropsychological testing and functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). If you would like to participate in this exciting new research, you and your family will come to Stanford for a battery of neuropsychological testing.

Each participant and their family members will complete a series of assessments that span approximately 2 – 3 hours. In addition, female participants with anorexia, their sisters, and age matched healthy controls will undergo an fMRI scan during which they will play cognitive computer games.

To be eligible as a participant with OCD, you must:

• Be a female between the ages of 12– 19
• History of OCD

If you are traveling from a distance, we will reimburse your travel expenses including flights and hotels.

To be eligible as a participant with a history of anorexia, you must:

• Be a female between the ages of 12 – 19
• Have a sister within three years of your age.
• History of Anorexia Nervosa

To be eligible as a participant as a control:

• Be a female between the ages of 12-19
• No psychiatric history

Each participating family member is compensated $75 for completing the assessments; participants who are scanned will be paid $150-$180.

This is a study examining the feasibility and acceptability of a preventive intervention program designed to improve child feeding in families in which the mother has an eating disorder. Participants will be randomly selected to receive one of two different treatment arms. Each treatment extends over 16 weeks period and consists of 12 sessions.

Who can participate?

• Adult mothers with children between the ages of 1 and 5 years old
• Current diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, or Binge Eating Disorder
• Living with a partner
• Medically stable for outpatient treatment

Interested in being trained and supervised in Family Based Treatment for adolescent Anorexia Nervosa? Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco are conducting a research study funded by the National Institute of Health to explore the best way to provide high quality training to busy therapists. Training will be online and supervision will be provided by a Family Based Treatment expert free of charge.

This study aims to test the efficacy of an FDA approved drug for obesity, Qsymia, for reducing symptoms of binge eating and/or purging in participants with binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa, compared to a control medication.  All study participants will receive the study medication-- either in the first half of the study or in the second half of the study.  Neither you nor members of the research team will  know the order in which you receive them until the end of the trial.  Medication is provided at no cost and the study is expected to take up to 6 months.

Who can participate?

• Men and women aged 18-60 with current symptoms of binge eating and/or purging

For general information regarding questions, concerns, or complaints about research, research related injury or the rights of research participants, please call (650) 723-5244 or toll-free 1-866-680-2906, or write to the Administrative Panel on Human Subjects in Medical Research, Administrative Panels Office, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5401.