PhD Studentship: Treating children and young people with eating disorders: Demonstrating the viability of a brief, effective, accessible and scalable therapy.

About the project

Background

This project builds upon pilot work conducted by the supervisors, demonstrating the feasibility and acceptability of delivering psychological treatment to school pupils via schools rather than requiring them to attend clinical settings. Pupils, parents and school staff all highlighted the potential benefits of this approach, as it could engage the patients more fully, through not requiring them to lose substantial educational opportunities. This approach has also been used successfully with adults in the workplace receiving treatment online without impact on their work. The pilot study also showed substantial levels of eating pathology among this age group, demonstrating the need for such accessible interventions.

Potential impact

This work has a clear potential pathway to impact, as success will be used to inform the curriculum of Educational Mental Health Practitioner courses in England. The EMHP courses would then have a protocol for a brief therapy for eating disorders, allowing them to add to their existing clinical targets of anxiety and depression disorders, thus developing impact from this research.

Methodology

This studentship will take a mixed-methods approach to evaluating school-based delivery of CBT-T for children and young people with non-underweight eating disorders.

The project begins with a systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesise existing evidence on brief psychological interventions for eating disorders, comparing outcomes across clinical and non-clinical settings such as schools and community services.

The core of the studentship involves a randomised controlled trial (RCT) using a waiting list design. Fifty school pupils aged approximately 11 to 18 with non-anorexic eating disorders will be recruited from schools in the Midlands. Participants will be randomly allocated to receive either immediate CBT-T or the same intervention after a 10-week waiting period. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, during therapy, post-treatment, and at follow-up intervals to determine the clinical effectiveness and sustainability of change. The student will be trained and supervised in CBT-T by the lead author of the manual.

In addition to symptom improvement, the study will evaluate broader outcomes, including pupils’ quality of life and perceived engagement with academic tasks, measured at the end of therapy and at follow-up.

To capture young people’s experiences of receiving therapy in school environments, the project will include an end-of-study qualitative survey, exploring perceived benefits, barriers, and acceptability.

Further analyses will explore early indicators of clinical improvement by identifying patterns of symptom change within the first few sessions, helping to develop heuristics for predicting who is most likely to benefit.

The project will also examine predictors of therapy drop-out by analysing participant factors such as mood, demographics, confidence, and lack of early change.

How to apply

Please submit an online application for MPhil/PhD in Health Sciences via this webpage. If you have any informal queries, please contact:  Dr Talar Moukhtarian and Glenn Waller .

Application deadline: 31 August 2025. Interviews will be held online in the second week of September. If you have any queries, please contact wmsrdcoord@warwick.ac.uk .

Full fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rates for 3 years plus RTSG or Consumables.

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