Adapting interpersonal psychotherapy to a group format (IPT-G) for binge eating disorder: Toward a model for adapting empirically supported treatments

The current managed-care-driven health care climate with its focus on cost containment has led to a heightened interest in empirically supported treatments. Consequently, researchers and clinicians are increasingly being asked to adapt these manualized treatments across psychiatric disorders and therapeutic modalities. However, little literature exists about how to make these adaptations. To illustrate the process of adapting a manualized treatment across disorders and modalities, the authors describe their experience of adapting Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) from major depressive disorder (MDD) to binge-eating disorder (BED) and from an individual format to a group format. A set of questions is provided as a template for making these adaptations and as a means of stimulating more rigorous thinking about the process. The authors call for standardization of the adaptation process as it will allow practitioners and clinical researchers to more efficiently and effectively adapt treatments across mental disorders and therapeutic modalities.