Update on Psychotherapy for People with Obseity

Abstract

Introduction. Nowadays, nobody questions the convenience of carrying out comprehensive approaches to the patient with obesity, including psychological intervention. However, there are still pending challenges such as maintaining long-term weight loss or addressing the emotional aspects involved in the well-being of the person. The objective of the article is to present the therapeutic approaches that try to face these challenges.

Method. A bibliographic search was carried out in PUBMED. The search strategy was performed from the MeSHDatabase including the concepts "obesity" and "psychotherapy".

Results. Behavior modification (BM) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have been approaches used to change habits, while other therapeutic approaches place more emphasis on the wellbeing of patients than on weight management. Knowing and complementing these approaches with CBT could significantly improve the therapeutic results. We find in the literature approaches and techniques (mindfulness, hypnosis, biofeedback) that seek to help the person to emotionally self-regulate; other interventions are focused on body image and self-esteem (dance therapy) and some publications begin to recommend EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) for people with obesity and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Conclusions. It is necessary to improve the results of psychological interventions in obesity to achieve the long-term maintenance of weight loss, as well as the emotional well-being of the person. There are promising and complementary approaches to CBT that could help with these challenges, although more studies on efficacy-effectiveness are needed.