Online guided family treatment for teens with anorexia nervosa
Official title: Confirming the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Online Guided Self-Help Family-Based Treatment for Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa
Funded at Stanford University · NIH-11139593 · Data updated 2026-11-12
An online guided self-help family program designed to help teenagers with anorexia nervosa regain healthy weight and eating attitudes while using less therapist time than standard family therapy.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project start | September 20, 2022 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $534,963 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH130388-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11139593 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adolescents diagnosed with anorexia nervosa and their families who are appropriate for family-based treatment and able to participate in online sessions are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Teens with severe medical instability, those for whom family-based approaches are inappropriate, or families unable to use online tools may not benefit from this program.
What this research studies
If your teen has anorexia, this project compares an online guided family-based program that families use with brief coach support to the usual family-based therapy delivered by therapists. Families follow structured online lessons and meet briefly with a trained guide while researchers track weight, eating-related thoughts, and recovery over time. The trial is randomized and runs at multiple clinical sites to see how the online approach works in real-world care, building on earlier pilot work. If confirmed, the online option could make effective treatment easier to find and use for more families.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could expand access to effective family-based treatment and allow more teens to get timely care by reducing required therapist time.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier pilot studies and a multisite randomized feasibility trial found similar improvements in weight and eating cognitions with guided self-help family treatment while using about 75% less therapist time.
Where this research is happening
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Stanford University
Stanford, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lock, James D — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Lock, James D
Related research
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Ketogenic Diet for Weight-Recovered Anorexia Nervosa to Support Metabolism and Eating-Disorder Symptoms
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Point-of-care RH risk tool for refeeding in anorexia nervosa
A quick, clinician-friendly risk tool helps predict who with anorexia nervosa might develop dangerous low phosphorus during hospitalization, guiding safer feeding and monitoring.
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Guided Online Self-Help Family-Based Treatment for Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa
A study tests if an online guided self-help version of family-based treatment works as well as standard treatment for teens with anorexia nervosa, in real-world clinics.
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Online guided family-based program for adolescents with anorexia nervosa
This project offers an online guided family-based program to help adolescents with anorexia nervosa improve symptoms while using much less therapist time than standard family therapy.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.