Also, Overeaters Anonymous, an organization modeled on Alcoholics Anonymous, provides support and advice for these services. Like other forms of group therapy, mutual aid is usually combined with individual psychotherapy. In controlled studies bulimic patients almost always respond to individual and group therapy. Cognitive therapy seems to be more effective than behavior therapy alone, drug treatment,or short-term psychodynamic therapy. Drug treatment or exposure and response prevention may enhance the effectiveness of cognitive therapy.
Group combined with individual therapy is generally better than individual therapy alone.
The patients least likely to respond to treatment are those who have other psychiatric disorders, especially alcoholism. Although little is known about the long term course of bulimia, it is, apparently uncommon among people over 40. Help for the Future More research on eating disorders is needed, because existing studies are often marred by uncertain diagnosis, unreported drop outs, inadequate follow-up, and judgments of outcome that rely solely on the reports of patients Researchers have called for more long term studies and for prospective studies in which people are interviewed for the first time before developing symptoms. There is also a need for more cross cultural investigation and further research on the relationship of eating disorders to addictions and compulsions.