Chatbot therapy: can AI ease eating disorder anxiety?
NCT ID NCT07237607
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study is testing an AI-powered chatbot called Exp-ED that guides teens and young adults through exposure therapy exercises to reduce anxiety about weight gain. Twenty participants in a partial hospitalization program for eating disorders will use the app for six weeks. Researchers will measure how often they use it, how usable it feels, and whether their anxiety improves.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Exp-ED digital exposure-therapy chatbot app
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could provide a low-cost, accessible tool to help teens and young adults manage anxiety about weight gain during eating disorder treatment.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very early, small study with only 20 participants, focused on feasibility and usability. The chatbot is a supplement, not a standalone treatment, and may not reduce anxiety for everyone.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 20 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2026
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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12 to 26 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Age is between or equal to 12-26 years * Admitted to the Penn State Health Eating Disorder Partial Hospital Program (PHP) or Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP) * Have a personal smartphone * Have a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge-eating disorder (BED), or other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED) * Be English speaking Exclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) * Have acute suicidality * Diagnosis of an intellectual disability
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Penn State College of Medicine
RECRUITINGHershey, Pennsylvania, 17033, United States
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