DBT Telephone Skills Coaching With Eating Disordered Clients: Who Calls, for What Reasons, and for How Long?

The goal of this paper is to report on the typology, frequency, and duration of intersession calls placed by outpatient eating disorder clients to their therapists. Participants were 17 women, offered DBT after-hours telephone coaching adapted for individuals with eating disorders. Results indicated that clients used telephone coaching primarily to reduce eating disorder–related urges, followed by nutrition consultation. The average number of calls received by the DBT therapist per day was .89 (SD = 2.38) with a range of 0 to 4 calls per day. The mean duration in minutes for a coaching call was 5.92 (SD = 4.66) with a range of 1 to 30 minutes. Illustrative vignettes using the DBT telephone coaching protocol for eating disorders are provided. Implications for implementing DBT telephone coaching in settings with eating disorder patients are discussed.