Recruiting

Exp-AN

Sponsor:

Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Code:

NCT07188155

Conditions

Anorexia Nervosa

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 14 - 17

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Exposure Therapy for Anorexia (Exp-AN)

Study Details

Brief summary:

This pilot study is evaluating Exposure Therapy (Exp-AN) as a virtual treatment for adolescents (ages 14 - 17 years) with anorexia nervosa (AN) recruited from eating disorder clinic waitlists and clinician referrals at the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) (8 participants per site). Adolescents who agree to take part in this study will receive 20 free virtual 40-60 minute weekly Exp-AN sessions at an outpatient level of care. Exp-AN for adolescents will combine individual virtual session time (35-50 min) with parent involvement (10-25 min). Parents will serve as "collaborators," supporting skill development, exposure completion, and treatment goal achievement. Exp-AN sessions will focus on helping participants overcome anxiety about weight gain by encouraging them to do challenging things that increase anxiety in the short term but help them better tolerate anxiety over the long term. Participants will be asked to complete a clinical interview, questionnaires, and labs and vitals testing before they begin the study. Adolescents will also complete questionnaires and participate in 15-min semi-structured interviews, while parents/caregivers will complete separate parallel interviews, at: mid-treatment, end-of-treatment, and 3-month follow-up. To ensure that all participants are receiving the same type of therapy, they will not be able to have any concurrent psychotherapy while receiving this treatment (other forms of care including dieticians, nutritionists, and psychiatrists are allowed).

Exp-AN is designed to target anxiety about weight gain. Exp-AN includes education about the effects of undereating; the importance of overcoming anxiety about weight gain; in-session weight exposures (e.g., stepping on a scale while reading a script describing fears about weight gain); creating a meal plan to help improve eating; reviewing eating behaviors over the past week; conducting in-session and between-session exposures that help participants face fears related to weight gain; and relapse prevention.

Conditions

Anorexia Nervosa

Study ID

NCT07188155

Start date

Feb 20, 2026

Status verified date

Apr, 2026

Completion date

Jun 30, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Mar 31, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 14 - 17

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Has a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (AN)
  • English speaking
  • Mentally stable for an outpatient level of care
  • Living with at least one parent/caregiver
  • Less than or equal to 90% of expected body weight

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Younger than 14 years old or older than 17 years old
  • Has a current psychotherapist and not open to pausing treatment for the duration of the study
  • Has a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa or binge-eating disorder
  • Acutely suicidal
  • Pregnant
  • Meets DSM-5 criteria for a psychotic disorder and/or has an intellectual disability
  • Non-English speaking

Study Design

Enrollment

16 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Exposure Therapy for AN (Exp-AN)

Exp-AN aims to target anxiety about weight gain by helping participants identify their specific feared consequences of weight gain (e.g., "I will permanently hate myself if I gain weight"), and combining in vivo (i.e., in real life) and imaginal (i.e., mental) exposure exercises to address these fears. Exp-AN consists of four core modules: (1) Treatment Rationale and Psychoeducation; (2) In-Session Weight Exposure; (3) Planning, Conducting, and Reviewing Exposures; and (4) Relapse Prevention.

Interventions

Exposure Therapy for Anorexia (Exp-AN)

Exp-AN is specifically designed to target anxiety about weight gain. Exp-AN helps participants identify their specific feared consequences of weight gain (e.g., "I will permanently hate myself if I gain weight"), and combines in vivo (i.e., in real life) and imaginal (i.e., mental) exposure exercises to address these fears.

Primary outcome measure

  • Eating Disorder Examination - Self-Report Questionnaire (EDE-Q) [ Time Frame: Baseline, Mid-Treatment, End-of-Treatment, 3-Month-Follow-Up ]
  • Fear of Food Measure (FOFM) [ Time Frame: Baseline, Mid-Treatment, End-of-Treatment, 3-Month-Follow-Up ]
  • Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ) [ Time Frame: Baseline, Mid-Treatment, End-of-Treatment, 3-Month-Follow-Up ]
  • Clinical Impairment Assessment (CIA) [ Time Frame: Baseline, Mid-Treatment, End-of-Treatment, 3-Month-Follow-Up ]
  • Eating Disorder Fear Questionnaire (EDFQ) [ Time Frame: Baseline, Sessions 1-20, 3-Month-Follow-Up ]
  • Weight Gain Anxiety Questionnaire [ Time Frame: Baseline, Sessions 1-20, 3-Month-Follow-Up ]
  • Eating Anxiety Questionnaire [ Time Frame: Baseline, Sessions 1-20, 3-Month-Follow-Up ]
  • Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) [ Time Frame: Baseline, Mid-Treatment, End-of-Treatment, 3-Month-Follow-Up ]
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) [ Time Frame: Baseline, Mid-Treatment, End-of-Treatment, 3-Month-Follow-Up ]
  • Eating Disorder Examination - Self-Report Questionnaire Parent Version 1.5 (PEDE-Q) [ Time Frame: Baseline, Mid-Treatment, End-of-Treatment, 3-Month-Follow-Up ]
  • Parent vs Eating Disorder Scale (PVED) [ Time Frame: Baseline, Mid-Treatment, End-of-Treatment, 3-Month-Follow-Up ]
  • Percent of Expected Body Weight (EBW) [ Time Frame: Baseline, Mid-Treatment, End-of-Treatment, 3-Month-Follow-Up ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Jamal Essayli, PhD

(717) 531-0003jessayli@pennstatehealth.psu.edu

Locations

Penn State College of Medicine

Recruiting

Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, 17033

Contacts

Jamal H Essayli, PhD

717-531-0003jessayli@pennstatehealth.psu.edu

Principal Investigator:

Jamal H Essayli, PhD

More Information

Sponsor

Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Last update posted

Apr 8, 2026

Last verified

Apr, 2026

Keywords

  • anorexia nervosa
  • exposure therapy
  • adolescents

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Milton S. Hershey Medical Center on 2026-04-08.