Outcomes of a Virtual Day Treatment Program for Adults With Eating Disorders—Comparison With In‐Person Day Treatment

Objective Previous studies have indicated that virtual treatments for eating disorders (EDs) are roughly as effective as are in‐person treatments; the present nonrandomized study aimed to expand on the current body of evidence by comparing outcomes from a virtual day treatment program with those of an in‐person program in an adult ED sample. Method Participants were 109 patients who completed at least 60% of day treatment sessions ( n = 55 in‐person and n = 54 virtual). Outcome measures included ED and comorbid symptoms, and motivation. Results Linear mixed models showed that global EDE‐Q scores decreased during treatment (AIC = 376.396, F = 10.94, p = 0.002), irrespective of treatment modality ( p = 0.186). BMI significantly increased over time (AIC = 389.029, F = 27.97, p < 0.001), with no effect of treatment modality ( p = 0.779). Discussion Our findings suggest that the virtual delivery of day treatments produces comparable outcomes to those obtained using in‐person formats, and that virtual formats may represent a pragmatic treatment option, especially in situations in which access to in‐person care is limited.