ABSTRACT
The use of evidence-based treatments (EBT) for psychological disorders is an aspiration held by many clinicians in an endeavor to engage in evidencebased practice. However, despite the shared commitment of researchers and clinicians to provide the most efficacious treatments to patients, the uptake of EBTs by clinicians has been challenging due to concerns about generalizability of research findings to practice, discomfort with using treatment manuals, and practicalities of obtaining adequate training and consultation (Kazdin, 2008). In the treatment of eating disorders, many clinicians do not “take up” EBTs. In one study, 23 percent of community clinicians used a cognitive behavioral approach to treat eating disorders and many of these practitioners did not use specific cognitive behavioral interventions regularly (von Ranson, Wallace, & Stevenson, 2013), in spite of CBT being the most researched EBT for bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder (Wilson, Grilo, & Vitousek, 2007). However, in a study of clinicians who are members of eating disorder professional organizations, more than 80 percent used EBTs either alone or in combination with non-empirically supported treatments (Wallace & von Ranson, 2012). These findings are more encouraging, although it was unclear from these findings how closely EBTs were followed and how other treatment approaches were integrated.
