The effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy on self-blame and mental rumination in binge-eating patients

Background: Binge-eating disorder (BED) is a serious mental health condition characterized by recurrent episodes of consuming large quantities of food in a short period, accompanied by feelings of loss of control.Individuals with BED often experience negative emotional states such as selfblame and mental rumination, which can exacerbate their binge-eating behaviors.Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based treatment approach that focuses on developing skills to manage emotions, improve interpersonal relationships, and regulate behaviors and in this population has not been studied.Aims: The aim of the present study was investigate of the effectiveness of dialectical behavior therapy on self-blame and mental rumination of patients with binge-eating disorder.Methods: The current research was a semi-experimental with a pretest, posttest, and 3-month followup design and a control group.The statistical population include all obese and overweight women aged 18 to 45 suffering from overeating in Karaj, who had regular visits to Overeaters Anonymous Association in Karaj between July 2022 and May 2023.A convenience method was used to select the sample (n=40) from among the statistical population, who volunteered to participate in the intervention and met the inclustion criteria.The subjects were assigned equally in two experimental (20 patients) and one wait-list control (20 patients).After the pretest, the subjects of the experimental group received the dialectical behavior therapy intevention in 2-hour weekly sessions for 9 sessions.Then the posttest stage and three months later follow-up was carried out.The tools used in this research were the levels of self-criticism scale (Thompson & Zuroff, 2004), the mental rumination (Nolen-Hoeksema and Maro, 1991) and the overeating questionnaire (Gormali et al., 1982).The data obtained from this research were analyzed using SPSS-27 software using mixed ANOVA.Results: The results showed that dialectical behavior therapy has a significant effect in reducing selfblame and mental rumination in binge eating patients and this effect has been stable after three months. Conclusion:In conclusion, this study adds to the evidence supporting Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for treating binge-eating disorder.It shows that DBT reduces self-blame and mental rumination, and these improvements last at least three months.DBT's focus on addressing cognitive distortions and improving emotion regulation skills offers hope for long-term recovery.