8-week Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Treatment Outline for Muscle Dysmorphia

General Structure and Design:

8 weekly individual sessions lasting 60 minutes per session (but could be developed into a longer group program).
Program based on principles from both Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT-E) and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy specifically adapted for Body Dysmorphic Disorder (CBT-BDD).
Session templates came from the Overcoming Binge Eating (OBE) and Individualised Intensive Outpatient Program (IIOP) programs at RPA Hospital, Sydney, but have been modified to work with people with Muscle Dysmorphia (MD).

General Points:

Clinicians may play around with the order of sessions, if clinically indicated.
Module time recommendations are general estimates and can be modified by the clinician.
Questions bolded and in italics may be directly asked to a client.

Course Outline

*Click on any session below to view the weekly Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) treatment outline for Muscle Dysmorphia (MD).

Session 1: Starting Well

Session 2: Addressing Strict Dieting and Establishing Flexible Eating

Session 3: Addressing Compulsive Exercise

Session 4: Developing Alternate Emotion Regulation Strategies

Session 5: Building Up Marginalised Areas of Life

Session 6: Addressing Checking and Avoidance Behaviours

Session 7: Comparison Making and Timeline of MD Symptoms

Session 8: Moving Forward with Recovery

*Treatment Outline created by Jordan Martenstyn.

Access Pilot Study

Click the button below to access the study where this treatment outline was piloted and shown to support positive outcomes for muscle dysmorphia.

Go to Study

Explore Diagnostic Interview Transcripts

Click the button below to access 29 de-identified diagnostic interview transcripts from individuals with clinically confirmed muscle dysmorphia. These transcripts are hosted on the Open Science Framework, where they can be viewed and downloaded.

Go to Transcripts