What is integrative cognitive-affective therapy?

Integrative Cognitive-Affective Therapy (ICAT) is a 21-week treatment program that focuses on skill development for adults who have symptoms of Bulimia Nervosa (BN) and Binge Eating Disorder (BED). ICAT focuses on building a collaborative relationship between the patient and provider, with the goal of examining the correlation between emotions and binging/ purging behaviors. 

Individuals who exhibit bulimic behaviors often experience: 

• Low Self-Esteem

• Concerns About Shape/ Weight

• Shame/ Guilt

• Restrictive Dieting

• Binging Behavior

• Self-Induced Vomiting

• Self-Induced Diarrhea

• Excessive Exercise

• Negative/ Low Affect

• Interpersonal Stress

Of course, many individuals may find symptoms of their BN or BED effective in momentarily mitigating negative feelings and regulating their emotions.

However, these negative emotions often return following symptom relapse (i.e., binging, purging). 

ICAT seeks to assist individuals in identifying situations and emotions that often elicit compensatory behaviors (i.e., binging/purging), while simultaneously learning alternative methods of responding to such emotions, thereby reducing one’s propensity to continue engaging in disordered eating behaviors. Relapse prevention is also an integral component of this treatment.