In this episode of Research Matters, Steph talks with Dr Rebecca Murphy about her forthcoming paper, Evolving perspectives on CBT-E for eating disorders: clarifying ten key points – misconceptions and communication gaps explored, published in The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist. Rebecca is a clinical psychologist and Research Director at the Centre for Research on Eating Disorders at Oxford, where she specialises in developing and disseminating evidence-based treatments for eating disorders, particularly CBT-E.

Rebecca discusses why she and her colleagues wrote the paper and identifies that there are not just misconceptions around CBT-E but areas where more clarification could be helpful for clinicians. Steph and Rebecca explore three of the most common misunderstandings, including concerns about rigidity, questions about the applicability of CBT-E in real clinical settings and therapist worries about treating people with co-occurring conditions. Rebecca explains how flexibility within fidelity supports truly individualised care, why outcomes in routine settings can match research trials, and how clinicians can deliver CBT-E effectively even when presentations feel complex.

Links and resources

The paper discussed is:

Murphy, R., Bailey-Straebler, S., Dalle Grave, R., Calugi, S., Osborne, E. L., & Cooper, Z. (2025). Evolving perspectives on CBT-E for eating disorders: clarifying ten key points – misconceptions and communication gaps explored. The Cognitive Behaviour Therapist, 18, e50. doi:10.1017/S1754470X25100299

The full version of the article can be found freely available here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-cognitive-behaviour-therapist/article/evolving-perspectives-on-cbte-for-eating-disorders-clarifying-ten-key-points-misconceptions-and-communication-gaps-explored/47CC468578C77CD65064DAFFE151A0B9

CBT E training and resources: https://www.cbte.co

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