Feeding & Eating Disorders: Early Detection & Family Response
This video gives some helpful tips on how families can help detect and respond to Feeding and Eating Disorders.
GG Positive Body Image is a mental health app which provides daily exercises to help the user cope with negative thoughts about their body and self. The app is made up of 51 levels (15 free) and expect the user to do 3 levels a day. Each level acts as a game by prompting the user with potential thoughts which they must either accept or reject. There are 3 assessments scattered throughout the levels which quantify the user’s body image with multiple personal questions. The full app can be unlocked by paying either a $4.99 monthly subscription or $19.99 lifetime purchase.
Available for: iPhone Requires iOS 9.0 or later. Android 4.0 and up
Developer: Ggtude Ltd
Type of Treatment: Cognitive Behavioral Principles, Cognitive Training, Gratitude
Targeted Conditions: Stress and Anxiety, Eating Disorders
Target Audience: Not Specified
Designed to be used in conjunction with a professional? No
Languages Available: English
Cost: Free with in-app purchases
Get it on: Apple App Store, Google Play, Web
A 2020 study of fifty female university students at high-risk of developing body image disorders (BIDs) were randomized in two groups of 25 each. Each group was to use a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy app, such as GG Self-Care, to assess the efficacy of such a product in reduction of body dysmorphic disorder and eating disorders in woman with BID. The study lasted 32 days, with one group using the app for all 32 days while the other waited for 16 days to use the app for half the time of the prior group. The results showed that training 3 minutes a day for 16 days with a CBT based mobile app may lead to reductions in some forms of body dissatisfaction. The effects of the intervention on eating disorder symptoms seemed more limited. (Cerea S et al., https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0005789420300526)
A randomized control trial, published in 2020, evaluated the effects of a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy based app, such as GG Self-Care, on increased resilience to body image triggers and reduction of Body Image Disturbance (BID) symptoms. A random sample of 90 women with the average age of 23 years used the mobile application for approx. 4 minutes of daily exercise for two weeks or to a control condition. Body image was measured at baseline, immediately after two weeks of use, and at a 1 month follow up. Relative to those in the control condition, participants who used the application demonstrated medium to large increase in resiliency and reduced BID symptoms maintained all the way through to the 1 month follow up. (Aboody D, Siev J, & Doron G. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0005796720301777)
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