title: Adlerian parental counseling in eating disorders: preliminary data of a controlled clinical trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Counseling interventions for parents with a daughter affected by an eating disorder (ED) may represent a useful and cost-effective tool to improve patients' compliance to treatment and overall outcome. The present study evaluates the outcome of Adlerian Parental Counseling (APC) on individuals affected by ED and their parents.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed 114 patients whose parents underwent APC and 44 individuals whose parents did not receive this intervention. All patients received multimodal treatment and were assessed at intake and at a 6-month follow-up. Patients were assessed using: the first scale and the improvement scale (GI) of the Clinical Global Impression (CGI) and the Family Assessment Device (FAD). Parents underwent APC and completed several psychometric tests: Attachment Style Questionnaire, State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory, Symptom Questionnaire, and Family Assessment Device.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The GI of the ED group whose parents received APC significantly improved when compared with baseline. Moreover, the improvement was significantly greater for the APC group with respect to the non-APC group if the initial CGI score was considered. After counseling, mothers displayed poorer FAD scores, but their sense of inadequacy, their anxiety symptoms and their preoccupation with relationships improved. Fathers improved their social trust and reduced introverted anger. APC reduced the differences as regards family functioning perception among family members.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents reported a subjective improvement in psychopathology scales and a better fine-tuning of their perception of family dynamics with those of their daughters and husband. The improvement in family dynamics along with the motivational effect of parents' participation in counseling may have positively influenced the outcome of the multimodal treatment. Moreover, this intervention could also have been helpful for those with a severe ED.
authors.affiliation: Neurosciences Department, Regional Pilot Centre for Eating Disorders, University of Torino, Via Cherasco 11, 10126, Turin, Italy, federico.amianto@unito.it.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Amianto
authors.forename: Antonella
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bertorello
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Spalatro
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Milazzo
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Signa
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cavarero
authors.forename: Giovanni
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abbate Daga
authors.forename: Secondo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fassino
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009679:Nuclear Family / Q000523:psychology*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult