Adele Lafrance

Adele Lafrance
  • PhD, C.Psych
  • Director at Emotion Science

About

91
Publications
39,457
Reads
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2,065
Citations
Current institution
Emotion Science
Current position
  • Director

Publications

Publications (91)
Article
Full-text available
Background Psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) is gaining recognition as a promising intervention for treatment-refractory mental health conditions in adults. While interest in its applications for adolescents is growing, critical gaps remain in understanding safe and effective delivery of PAT to this vulnerable population, including implications fo...
Article
Full-text available
Attachment theory and the science of emotion provide a strong foundation for intervention at the family system level. Four therapeutic models in particular, Attachment‐Based Family Therapy, Emotion‐Focused Family Therapy, Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy, and Emotionally Focused Family Therapy, demonstrate how a broad and accurate view of attachm...
Article
Eating disorders (EDs) are difficult conditions to resolve, necessitating novel treatments. Ayahuasca, a psychedelic plant medicine originating in Indigenous Amazonian communities, is being investigated. Aspects of ceremonial ayahuasca use (purging, dietary restrictions) appear similar to ED behaviors, raising questions about ayahuasca's suitabilit...
Article
Ayahuasca is a psychedelic plant-based tea from the Amazon used for spiritual and medicinal purposes. Research suggests its utility in the treatment of various mental health conditions. Potential risks are also being identified. Largely absent from this literature have been the perspectives of ayahuasca ceremony leaders, whose knowledge and experie...
Article
Given the mortality, chronicity, and treatment drop-out rates observed among individuals with eating disorders (EDs), innovative approaches are needed. Ayahuasca, a psychedelic plant medicine from the Amazon, is currently being investigated. This study expands on prior exploratory research by describing the perspectives of ayahuasca ceremony leader...
Article
Objective: This study investigated treatment-engagement fears, self-efficacy, and accommodating and enabling in mothers and fathers of adolescent and adult children with eating disorders. Methods: This study involved a secondary analysis of pre-treatment data from a subsample of 143 parents (95 mothers; 48 fathers) from a Canada-wide multi-site...
Article
Full-text available
Background Depression and anxiety outcome measures, safety/tolerability, patient satisfaction, and ease of implementation of group-based ketamine-assisted psychotherapy (G-KAP) delivered to patients in intensive residential eating disorder (ED) treatment were assessed. Case presentation This study reports on five participants with a diagnosis of a...
Article
Full-text available
Introduction Eating disorders (EDs) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are highly comorbid, yet there are no proven integrative treatment modalities for ED-PTSD. In clinical trials, MDMA-assisted therapy (MDMA-AT) has shown marked success in the treatment of PTSD and may be promising for ED-PTSD. Methods Ninety individuals with severe PTSD r...
Article
Emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT) is a therapy model which includes a two-chair intervention aimed at facilitating awareness and an interruption of problematic patterns of parenting as well as a reconnection to healthy caregiving instincts. The present study employed a task analysis to examine the process of this intervention with parents in a...
Article
As more caregivers of children (of any age) struggling with an eating disorder are recruited as partners in care, it is important to identify potential barriers to such involvement. The Caregiver Traps Scale for Eating Disorders (CTS-ED) was developed as a measure of caregiver fears with respect to treatment-engagement. The purpose of this study wa...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious and life-threatening psychiatric condition. With a paucity of approved treatments, there is a desperate need for novel treatment avenues to be explored. Here, we present (1) an overview of the ways through which Public Patient Involvement (PPI) has informed a trial of psilocybin-assisted therapy for AN...
Article
Full-text available
A resurgence of research has begun to systematically examine the relationship between psychedelic use and mental health and well-being. Although preliminary findings examining the therapeutic value of these substances show promise, the mechanisms through which psychedelic use may predict reduced mental distress remain poorly understood. To this end...
Article
Ayahuasca is a psychotropic plant-based tea from the Amazon. Its ceremonial use for therapeutic and spiritual purposes has become increasingly common and stands to escalate based on current policy initiatives in some countries. As ceremonial ayahuasca use spreads there is a need to understand, from various perspectives, how best to improve outcomes...
Chapter
Eating disorders (EDs) are associated with a wide array of comorbid psychological symptoms and conditions. They can have a serious impact on quality of life, as well as contributing to high morbidity and premature mortality. EDs are also among the most challenging mental disorders to treat, and long-term outcome studies show high rates of relapse....
Article
Full-text available
Objective The COVID-19 pandemic has had detrimental effects on mental health. Literature on the impact on individuals with eating disorders is slowly emerging. While outpatient eating disorder services in Canada have attempted to transition to virtual care, guidelines related to optimal virtual care in this field are lacking. As such, the objective...
Article
Despite advances in the field, eating disorders (EDs) remain very challenging disorders to treat, especially when comorbid with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). N-methyl-3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy for treatment refractory PTSD shows great promise, with two-thirds of participants achieving full remission at 1 ye...
Article
Emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT) empowers caregivers to support their loved one’s eating disorder (ED) recovery. Data were collected over time from 74 caregivers who participated in a 2-day EFFT workshop. Results revealed positive outcomes related to self-efficacy, treatment engagement fears, and the accommodation and enabling of behaviours. A...
Article
Full-text available
Purpose Ayahuasca is a traditional Amazonian medicine that is currently being researched for its potential in treating a variety of mental disorders. This article reports on exploratory qualitative research relating to participant experiences with ceremonial ayahuasca drinking and conventional treatment for eating disorders (EDs). It also explores...
Article
Full-text available
Objectives: Eating disorders are common and serious conditions affecting up to 4% of the population. The mortality rate is high. Despite the seriousness and prevalence of eating disorders in children and adolescents, no Canadian practice guidelines exist to facilitate treatment decisions. This leaves clinicians without any guidance as to which tre...
Article
This study evaluated the 2-day intensive modality of Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT). The intervention attempts to prepare parents to take a primary role in their child's recovery from a range of mental health issues. One hundred and twenty-four parents completed the intervention and provided data a week prior to intervention, post-interventi...
Article
Full-text available
This study evaluated the 2‐day intensive modality of Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT). The intervention attempts to prepare parents to take a primary role in their child's recovery from a range of mental health issues. One hundred and twenty‐four parents completed the intervention and provided data a week prior to intervention, post‐interventi...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Recent evidence suggests that psychedelic use predicts reduced perpetration of intimate partner violence among men involved in the criminal justice system. However, the extent to which this association generalizes to community samples has not been examined, and potential mechanisms underlying this association have not been directly exp...
Article
Full-text available
Eating disorders (EDs) are serious health conditions that are among the most difficult to treat. Innovative treatments are needed and modalities from across cultures must be considered. Ayahuasca is a psychoactive plant-based tea originally used by Amazonian indigenous groups. A growing body of research points to its promise in the healing of vario...
Article
Full-text available
Objectives: Best practice guidelines encourage the involvement of parents in the assessment and treatment of child/adolescent eating disorders (ED). This study investigated medical residents' perspectives regarding parental involvement as well as their expectations for future practice in the assessment and treatment of ED. Method: Five hundred a...
Poster
Disordered eating (DE) is known to be associated with marked difficulties with emotion regulation. Furthermore, researchers agree that symptoms of anxiety increase the vulnerability for future DE behaviours as well as the development and maintenance of eating disorders. Although some studies have identified a relationship between DE and symptoms of...
Article
Full-text available
A process model was tested whereby parental fear and self-blame were targeted in order to enhance parental self-efficacy and supportive efforts in the context of emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT) for eating disorders (ED). A 2-day EFFT group intervention was delivered to parents of adolescent and adult children with ED. Data were collected from...
Article
Purpose: Stress has been associated with deviations from typical eating patterns, with respect to both food choice and overall caloric intake. Both increases and decreases in dietary intake have been previously noted in response to stress. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether the affect regulation strategies of emotional contr...
Article
It is well established that stress is related to changes in eating patterns. Some individuals are more likely to increase their overall food intake under conditions of stress, whereas others are more likely to consume less food when stressed. Attachment style has been linked to disordered eating and eating disorders; however, comparisons of eating...
Article
Full-text available
Carers often feel disempowered and engage in behaviours that inadvertently enable their loved one's ED symptoms and yet little is known regarding these processes. This study examined the relationships among fear, self-blame, self-efficacy, and accommodating and enabling behaviours in 137 carers of adolescents and adults with ED. The results reveale...
Article
Family-based therapy (FBT) is regarded as best practice for the treatment of eating disorders in children and adolescents. In FBT, parents play a vital role in bringing their child or adolescent to health; however, a significant minority of families do not respond to this treatment. This paper introduces a new model whereby FBT is enhanced by integ...
Article
Full-text available
Eating disorder clinicians from various disciplines participated in one of two surveys: the "self" group (n = 143) completed a survey assessing the negative influence of emotions on their own clinical decisions, while the "other" group (n = 145) completed a parallel version of the survey that assessed their perceptions of the negative influence of...
Article
Emotion-focused family therapy is a transdiagnostic approach that affords parents and caregivers a significant role in their loved one's recovery from an eating disorder. A 2-day intervention was developed on the basis of emotion-focused family therapy principles and delivered to 33 parents of adolescent and adult children. Data were collected pre-...
Article
Full-text available
Emotion-focused therapy (EFT) is an evidence-based treatment for depression and it has shown promise for the treatment of anxiety. Only one other published study has examined EFT in a group therapy setting. Using mixed-methods, the current study explored the feasibility and outcomes of an EFT group with adults referred for anxiety and depression. P...
Article
Full-text available
This study examined medical residents' comfort with and knowledge of eating disorder assessment and treatment practices for children and adolescents. Since entering medical school, the majority of respondents reported receiving fewer than 5 hours of training in this area. Participants reported feeling more comfortable with the assessment of eating...
Article
Objective Clinicians have been shown to drift away from protocol in their delivery of evidence-based treatments. This study explores this phenomenon in the delivery of family-based therapy (FBT) for eating disorders, and the clinician characteristics that might explain such therapist drift.Method The participants were 117 clinicians who reported us...
Article
Full-text available
Studies show that physicians are dissatisfied with their training in the area of eating disorders in general, and a number of practice barriers and training needs have been identified. There are no known studies examining attitudes and needs of physicians or psychologists with respect to eating disorders in children and adolescents in Canada. This...
Article
Adolescent eating disorder symptoms, depression and anxiety, the impact of their symptoms on their parents, and parental self-efficacy were assessed before beginning family-based day hospital treatment, and at 3 and 6 months post-assessment. Parents' self-efficacy increased during the first 3 months of treatment, and their knowledge and confidence...
Article
Family-based therapy is regarded as best practice for the treatment of eating disorders in adolescents. In family-based therapy, parents play a vital role in bringing their child or adolescent to health; however, little is known about the parent-related mechanisms of change throughout treatment. The present study examines parent and adolescent outc...
Article
Full-text available
The ability of individuals to recognise and regulate their emotions is known as emotion regulation. It is well established that difficulties in emotion regulation are associated with disordered eating. The present study explored the relationships among gender, body mass index, difficulties in emotion regulation, and disordered eating behaviours in...
Article
Full-text available
Emotion-focused therapy (EFT) is an evidence-based treatment for depression and trauma and has shown promise for other presentations including anxiety. Minimal research exists investigating the outcomes of emotion-focused therapy in a group setting. The current research presents a mixed-method single-case study of one client’s experiences and outco...
Article
Full-text available
Studies show that primary care clinicians struggle with the assessment and treatment of eating disorders in adults. There are no known studies examining current practices of clinicians with respect to eating disorders in children and adolescents. The following study describes the key practices of primary care clinicians in Ontario, Canada, around t...
Article
Full-text available
The present studies tested whether the salience of sociocultural norms for ideal appearance leads women to base their self-worth more strongly on appearance, which in turn leads them to feel more concerned with others' perceptions and less satisfied with their bodies. Study 1 tested this model by manipulating the salience of the sociocultural norm...
Article
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A review of 16 controlled outcome evaluations of housing and support interventions for people with mental illness who have been homeless revealed significant reductions in homelessness and hospitalization and improvements in other outcomes (e.g., well-being) resulting from programs that provided permanent housing and support, assertive community tr...
Article
Full-text available
French/English bilingual children (N=40) in French language schools participated in an 8-month longitudinal study of the relation between phonological processing skills and reading in French and English. Participants were administered measures of phonological awareness, working memory, naming speed, and reading in both languages. The results of the...
Article
Full-text available
The French (L1) and English (L2) reading development of bilingual children in French schools was examined using measures of oral language proficiency, letter-name and letter-sound knowledge, phonological processing (phonological awareness, naming speed and working memory), and word decoding over an eight month period. At Time 1 (Senior Kindergarten...

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