Author: Annette Mehl
Centre: Charles University Prague

This study is conducted to assess the effects of 12 weekly administered psychologist-guided chat sessions on primary caregivers’ burden and life quality of patients suffering from an Eating Disorder (ED) according to DSM-IV. Current burden of aregivers will be assessed using “The Experience of Caregiving Inventory” (ECI, Szmukler, Burgess, Herrman, Benson, Colusa & Bloch, 1996), the “The Clinical Psychological Diagnostic System” (CPDS, Percevic, Gallas, Wolf, Haug, Hünerfauth, Schwarz & Kordy, 2005) and the “Eating Disorders Symptom Impact Scale” (EDSIS; Selpulveda, Treasure, Whitney, & Lopez, 2006). N = 140 primary caregivers from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany, Portugal, France and Ireland are randomised to either the Chatting- or the Wait list trial and fill in the self-report measures before and after a three months period. The aim of the study is to address caregivers’ needs and assess changes in burden by weekly administered chat group.