Dialectical Behaviour Therapy for Eating (DBT)

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) for eating disorders is an evidence-based treatment that helps people build healthier ways of coping with overwhelming emotions, distress, perfectionism, and impulsive behaviours that may contribute to binge eating, purging, restriction, or irregular eating patterns. DBT combines practical skills in mindfulness, emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness to support recovery while fostering self-compassion and behavioural change. Research suggests DBT can be particularly helpful for bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and individuals with co-occurring emotional dysregulation or self-harm behaviours. Learn more about evidence-based eating disorder treatments through Eating Disorders Victoria and recent research published in the Journal of Eating Disorders by Vogel, Singh & Accurso (2021). Additional information about DBT for eating disorders can also be found via the Encyclopedia of Feeding and Eating Disorders.