An interventional study of Online Group Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Face-to-face Group Dialectical Behavioral Therapy in Bulimia Nervosa, sponsored by Shanghai Mental Health Center. Completed at 1 site in China. Open to female participants aged 18 Years to 35 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-08-25.
Sponsored by Shanghai Mental Health Center · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
Bulimia Nervosa (BN) is a kind of chronic refractory mental disorder with high prevalence and relapse rate, which would cause serious damage to physical and mental health. Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is an internationally effective and evidence-based therapy for BN patients. Previous studies have found that DBT group therapy can significantly improve the core symptoms of BN patients. Our research group has conducted DBT group therapy for BN, and found that after 12 weeks of treatment, the frequencies of binge eating and purging behavior of BN patients were significantly reduced. However, with the high cost of ground-based group therapy and low coverage, it is difficult to promote the G-DBT(Group Dialectical Behavioral Therapy) for BN, considering the shortage of mental health resource in China. Besides, videoconferencing-based psychotherapy has gradually emerged in recent years. However, there is still a lack of clinical studies on the videoconferencing-based G-DBT for BN at home and abroad to confirm its efficacy and feasibility. Therefore, this study intends to use a randomized controlled study by randomly allocating BN patients into videoconferencing-based G-DBT group and traditional G-DBT group for 12 weeks. By comparing the changes of core symptoms and psychological characteristics of BN patients before and after treatment, this study aims to illustrate the efficacy and feasibility of videoconferencing-based G-DBT is no less than traditional G-DBT.
173 studies on the registry are indexed under Bulimia Nervosa; 39 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 120 is above the median of 60 across 121 interventional studies indexed under Bulimia Nervosa.
Browse Bulimia Nervosa studies →Shanghai Mental Health Center is the lead sponsor of 272 studies on the registry; 91 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
DSM diagnostic criteria
The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
BMI (body mass index)
Weight in kilograms divided by height in metres squared. Example: 70 kg and 1.75 m gives 70 ÷ (1.75 × 1.75) ≈ 22.9.
What counts as overweight or obesity differs between countries (some use lower cut-offs), so go by the range the study states.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Participants receive the G-DBT via videoconference weekly.
Behavioral: Online Group Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Participants attend the traditional G-DBT weekly in Shanghai Mental Health Center.
Behavioral: Face-to-face Group Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
Online G-DBT is an adapted version of G-DBT delivered via video-conference. The specific design of G-DBT is the same as traditional face-to-face G-DBT. It also consists of 12 sessions, which is conducted weekly and lasts for 120 minutes. There are two therapists in charge of the therapy.
Also known as: Online G-DBT
The G-DBT consists of 12 sessions, each lasting 120 minutes, and is held once a week. Two DBT therapists lead the patients to learn mindfulness skills, emotion regulation skills, pain tolerance skills, and interpersonal effectiveness skills. The aim is to help the patients reduce binge eating and harmful behaviors by regulating their emotions. Each sessions is conducted in a face-to-face way, in the psychological therapy room of the outpatient clinic in Shanghai Mental Health Center.
Also known as: Face-to-face G-DBT
Changes of binge eating and purging episodes from baseline
Measured by Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q, item 13 and 15). Core pathological behaviors of BN patients.
Time frame: Baseline, week 12 (end of the treatment), week 16 and week 24
Change of disordered eating from baseline
Measured by the total scores of EDE-Q and scores of its four subscales.
Time frame: Baseline, week 12 (end of the treatment), week 16 and week 24
Changes of eating disorder related cognitive and behavioral characteristics
Measured by EDI(Eating Disorder Inventory), which consists of 8 subscales, 91 items.
Time frame: Baseline, week 12 (end of the treatment), week 16 and week 24
Change of impulse control ability
Measured by Barratt Impulsiveness Scale Version 11 (BIS-11), which consists of 3 dimension, 26 items. Higher scores represent stronger impulse.
Time frame: Baseline, week 12 (end of the treatment), week 16 and week 24
Change of depression level
Measured by Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), of which higher scores show deeper depression.
Time frame: Baseline, week 12 (end of the treatment), week 16 and week 24
Change of anxiety level
Measured by Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Higher scores show deeper anxiety.
Time frame: Baseline, week 12 (end of the treatment), week 16 and week 24
Change of emotion regulation ability
Measured by Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS-16), which includes 16 items that falls into 5 factors.
Time frame: Baseline, week 12 (end of the treatment), week 16 and week 24
Ran from Dec 2020 to primary completion in Nov 2022, 23 months.
Of 63 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Bulimia Nervosa, half reached primary completion within 43 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 18 and three quarters within 58. This study's 23 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 65 studies reached it within 43 months; a quarter within 18 and three quarters within 49.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Shanghai Mental Health Center →