Browsing by Subject "Clinical Counseling track"

Now showing 1 - 20 of 28
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    Appetite Awareness Training as a Weight Gain Prevention Intervention for Young Adult Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial
    (2017-08) Guidinger, Claire
    Young adulthood, in particular, is a time of increased risk of weight gain. Indeed,weight gain of 3-5 pounds among college freshmen has been well documented. Given the high rates of obesity, prevention efforts have become a national priority. This Plan B Project evaluated the efficacy of a brief Appetite Awareness Training Intervention in preventing weight gain in young adult women. Appetite Awareness Training (Craighead,2006) aims to increase an individual's ability to eat intuitively based on bodily hunger and satiety cues, rather than external or emotional cues, thereby potentially preventing weight gain. This study was a randomized control trial that used a 3x2 mixed factorial design with participants (n = 89) assigned to one of three groups: Appetite Awareness Training (AAT, n = 31), Nutrition Education (NE, n = 29), or a no-treatment control(NTC, n = 29). Primary (weight, BMI, body fat %, and waist circumference)and secondary(self-regulatory eating processes) outcome variables were assessed at baseline and post-intervention. The findings of this study revealed no statistically significant differences between groups on primary outcome variables, but AAT participants experienced a substantially greater increase in weight management self-efficacy at post-treatment compared to the NE and NTC groups.
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    Barriers to Mental Health Services for Children in Low-income, Racial-Ethnic Minority Families
    (2021-07) Knourek, Kimberly A
    Accessing mental health care can be difficult for several reasons, but barriers to treatment can be exacerbated by racial-ethnic minority status, poverty, and its associated stressors. Understanding barriers to mental health care for children and their families experiencing poverty is essential to organize resources and provide better support. The first aim of this study was to examine how poverty status, trauma experience, and age affects access to the child’s mental health care and treatment progress. Data were collected on children aged 6 to 18 years old (N = 224) from August 2018 to February 2020 by using archival medical records in collaboration with a local community mental health organization. Children and their parents completed study measures with a therapist at their first appointment. This study utilized a between-groups, quantitative, natural correlational design and results were determined by the use of the Child and Adolescent Service Intensity Instrument (CASII) to measure treatment progress and treatment intensity measured as number of sessions and weeks of treatment as outcome measures. Results displayed that CASII pre-treatment scores were a significant predictor of CASII mid-treatment scores, meaning there was very little change in scores. Poverty, trauma experience, and age were not significant predictors for either change in symptoms over time, or treatment access as measured by treatment intensity, when CASII pre-treatment scores were included in the model. The second aim of this study is to aid the community collaborator in acquiring information that is beneficial in supporting the families to whom they provide services.
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    The Blame Game: Assessing Blame Placed on Gender Diverse Victims of HIV and the Impact of Perspective Taking
    (2020-03) Deihl, Emma C
    Gender diverse individuals experience higher rates of HIV and are blamed for their diagnoses to a greater extent than cisgender individuals. Proponents of Attribution Theory posit that victim blaming can be explained by understanding how people attribute causes to others' misfortunes (i.e., one's HIV diagnosis), whereby victims whose behavior is perceived as internal, controllable, and stable are blamed to a greater extent than victims whose behavior is perceived as external, uncontrollable, and unstable. Furthermore, perspective-taking is a technique used to reduce blame by altering one's causal attributions. Despite the links between causal attributions and perceptive taking, no study has applied these constructs to understand and reduce blame placed on gender diverse individuals who have been diagnosed with HIV. Thus, the current study examined the extent to which hypothetical gender diverse individuals were blamed for their HIV diagnosis to a greater extent than cisgender individuals, whether causal attributions explained this difference, and if perspective taking reduced blame. U.S. adults (N = 513) were randomly assigned to read one of nine vignettes, depicting an individual diagnosed with HIV, in which the gender identity of the target (transgender, cisgender man, cisgender woman) and the perspective-taking instructions (perspective taking, stay objective, and no instructions) were manipulated. Participants then completed scales assessing casual attributions (locus of causality, controllability, and stability) and blame (using three sub-measures: malice, unreliability, and recklessness). The results revealed that the gender diverse target was perceived to be more reckless than the cisgender targets and that locus of causality attributions partially explained these perceptions. In addition, the perspective-taking manipulation failed to significantly reduce blame placed on gender diverse individuals. The results from this research have important implications for educators and practitioners working to reduce blame associated with HIV diagnoses and stigma placed on gender diverse individuals.
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    A Brief Appetite Awareness Intervention for Eating and Weight Regulation Among College Freshmen: A Randomized Clinical Trial
    (2016-05) Vieaux, Lauren E
    The pervasiveness of obesity within our society has become a leading public health concern. Weight loss interventions are largely ineffective over the long run, thus researchers are turning their efforts toward weight gain prevention approaches. Given that the time of greatest change in dietary quality and incidence of obesity is during young adulthood, it would seem that prevention approaches would ideally target this population. Currently, most prevention programs utilize informational approaches (i.e., providing nutrition education) and/or are time intensive. Although these approaches show small short-term effects, Appetite Awareness Training (AAT), delivered in a brief group format, may offer a low-cost intervention aimed at sustainable skills. With an emphasis placed on an individual's ability to eat intuitively based on bodily hunger and satiety cues, AAT transforms an individual's approach to eating, instilling long lasting awareness of one's eating habits. This study evaluated the efficacy of a brief AAT intervention versus a standard nutrition information intervention (NE) versus a notreatment control. Freshman women (n=34) were randomly assigned to one of the three groups. Changes in weight, BMI, eating self-regulation, and other psychosocial variables were assessed at baseline, post-intervention, and 18 weeks post-intervention. Preliminary results show brief interventions (AAT and NE) to supersede no intervention with regards to ability to prevent unintended weight gain. Further, AAT participants showed greater confidence in efficaciously managing their weight and refraining from eating due to external influences.
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    Children Receiving Services at a Community Child Advocacy Center: A Mixed-Method Examination of Early Maladaptive Schemas and Coping Responses
    (2022-05) Zheng, Linda
    Schemas are core emotional and cognitive themes regarding oneself and one’s environment. Early maladaptive schemas (EMS) are themes originating from childhood and are associated with unmet emotional needs and adverse experiences, such as those that occur in caregiver-child relationships. EMS are maintained throughout life by unhelpful coping responses. However, it is unclear when children develop EMS and how the relationship between EMS and coping responses presents in children. Objective: The present study examined: (1) the prevalence of EMS and coping responses in children who have experienced maltreatment, (2) the relationship between EMS and coping responses, (3) how qualitative data compare to previous theoretical structures found in quantitative studies, and (4) how personal factors (e.g., age, gender) and abuse factors (e.g., frequency, type) are related to EMS and coping responses. Participants: Data were collected in collaboration with a child advocacy center through forensic interviews in which a child reported primary and/or secondary abuse. Measures: EMS were assessed using the Dusseldorf Illustrated Schema Questionnaire for Children (excluding illustrations). Coping responses were assessed using the COPE Inventory. Information about individual and abuse factors were gathered from case reports. Procedure: Staff at the child advocacy center completed the measures based on information obtained during forensic interviews. Results: All EMS were present in this sample. Excessive responsibility/standards was positively associated with self-sufficient coping and negatively associated with avoidant coping. Children of color, older children, and children who experienced multiple forms of abuse also reported higher levels of disconnection/rejection. Children who reported multiple forms of abuse also reported higher levels of impaired autonomy/performance. Conclusion: Early interventions should address EMS and reinforce more helpful coping responses for children with such adverse experiences.
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    Children's Wellbeing and ADHD among Rural and Urban Families
    (2024-05) Coleman, Callie Ann
    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between both positive parent-child relationships and community support to child ADHD symptom severity and child subjective wellbeing across rural and urban families. Past literature has found extensive barriers for accessing quality mental health services among rural families, however there is limited information on assets and strengths of rural families that may facilitate improved mental health. In particular, accessing high quality mental health services is important for assessment and treatment of mental health conditions such as Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Additionally, evaluating the relationships between parents and children would be beneficial, as ADHD is a concern of the entire family. The current study’s aim is to provide information on the unique experiences of rural families with children with ADHD that may ultimately inform community or school based services. The current study recruited children with ADHD and their families from urban and rural settings to complete surveys on the parent-child relationship, child wellbeing, and community support. Results showed a significant main effect of positive parent-child relationships on ADHD symptom severity. However, location and community support were not significant predictors of ADHD symptom severity. Community support and positive parent-child relationships were significantly associated with each other. Results showed there were no significant main effects of the predictors of location, community support, and positive parent-child relationships on child subjective wellbeing. Implications and limitations of the current study are discussed.
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    Contextual Predictors of BIPOC Students’ College Experience at a PWI: A S-BIT of Work Perspective
    (2024-05) Lindenfelser, Hope Elizabeth
    Objectives: Utilizing the theoretical framework of the Strengths-Based Inclusive Theory of Work (S-BIT of Work), the purpose of this study was to assess the relationships among contextual factors, the college setting, and positive individual characteristics amongst BIPOC college students. Specifically, discrimination, institutionalized classism (contextual variables), supportive university environment, cultural congruity (promotive work/educational context variables), hope, strengths use, and empowerment (individual positive characteristics) were examined. Participants: 98 adult college students from a predominately White 4-year institution in the Midwest (United States) who identified as BIPOC were recruited for this study. Method: Participants were recruited via three recruitment methods: emails to student clubs, organizations, and offices; extra credit offered by psychology faculty; and the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Psychology Research Pool (SONA). Participants completed validated measures for each variable previously noted. Participants were either entered into a drawing for one of 74 $25 gift cards, if desired, offered extra credit in a psychology course, or offered SONA credit depending on the recruitment method. Results: Path analysis was used to evaluate the theoretical model. Discrimination significantly and negatively predicted supportive university environment and cultural congruity. Also, results approached significance between institutionalized classism and hope, with a negative relationship. Results suggest that contextual barriers BIPOC students experience negatively relate to their perceptions of their environment, and these barriers may negatively relate to students’ goal-setting ability (i.e., hope).
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    Development and Exploratory Factor Analysis of Trauma-Related Blame Scale
    (2020-06) Jamieson, Jeremy D
    Following interpersonal trauma, survivors often experience maladaptive trauma-related blame cognitions which have relevance for psychopathology and treatment. In fact, the American Psychiatric Association has included blame as a symptom of PTSD in its most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. At the present, there is a paucity of literature concerning the development, course and resolution of these cognitions. Unfortunately, this research has been stymied by the limitations of existing measures, being rooted in a single trauma type and primarily regarding self-blame. The aim of the present study was to develop a trauma-related blame scale for survivors which could be employed to assess blame in any type of interpersonal traumatic experience and would include subscales for various blame typologies. Trauma-related blame items were developed to target attributions about the self, trauma-perpetrators, other victims, traumarelated others, higher-power entities, or no-one at all. Following the generation of 767 items, feedback from subject matter experts, and necessary modifications to the measure after content analysis, items were administered to a mixed interpersonal trauma population via a web-based crowdsourcing participant pool. Then, an exploratory factor analysis was performed on a final dataset containing responses of N = 458 participants to assess the degrees to which items load on intended blame subscales, resulting in a total 89 items at final reduction and eight factors: Higher-Power-Blame, No-one, Behavioral SelfBlame, Perpetrator Intent, Characterological Perpetrator-Blame, Perpetrator-Blame, Other-Blame, and Characterological Self-Blame. The next stage of this research should examine the construct validity and further validation within clinical populations.
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    Eating Regulation Within the Context of Self-Determination Theory
    (2020-05) Dixit, Urvashi
    About 40% of young adult females engage in dysregulated eating behaviors (Goldschmidt et al., 2018) which is concerning because this can serve as an antecedent to clinical eating disorders (Bryla, 2003). Research suggests that dysregulated eating may result from the blocking or frustration of three fundamental psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Conversely, satisfaction of these three needs may contribute to more regulated and healthier eating patterns. More specifically, the supporting and/or thwarting of the need for relatedness seems to have the most robust association with individuals' eating behaviors. The purpose of this study was to experimentally test the impact of relatedness support and thwarting on eating regulation. Female undergraduate students (N = 82; Mage = 19.21) first played a "Boggle” game during which they experienced connecting, rejecting or neutral interactions with the researchers, as part of the need manipulation. They then participated in a bogus chocolate taste test. Dependent variables included the amount of chocolate eaten, positive/negative affect, state anxiety, intrinsic motivation, and game performance. One-way ANOVAs and ANCOVAs suggest that when individuals experienced relatedness thwarting, they consumed more food (d = .45), experienced more negative mood (d = .66), less positive mood (d = .73), and less intrinsic motivation (willingness to recommend experience, d = .76) than those who experienced relatedness support. Tendencies toward emotional eating and eating more or less in response to stress did not influence the amount of chocolate consumed. Overall, the findings were supportive of self-determination theory's propositions about basic psychological needs and indicated that when individuals feel socially rejected or undermined, they are more likely to engage in dysregulated eating and experience ill-being.
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    The Effect of Go/No-Go Training Dosage on Weight Loss, Food Evaluation, and Disinhibition in Primarily Overweight and Obese Individuals: A Randomized Controlled Trial
    (2021) Jansen, Emily T
    Response inhibition trainings have recently been studied as innovative approaches to obesity treatment by targeting the impulsive (unconscious) processes that underlie eating behaviors. Specifically, the go/no-go (GNG) task has resulted in reduced food consumption and small, but significant, weight loss in two brief intervention studies. In the current study, participants were randomized to one of three groups: high intensity food-specific GNG (four times per week for 4 weeks; n = 19), low intensity food-specific GNG (one time per week for 4 weeks; n = 22), or nonfood-specific GNG (i.e., control group, one time per week for 4 weeks; n = 23). Pre- and post-intervention measures assessed for changes in body weight, food evaluation, snack consumption, binge eating, and dietary disinhibition. It was hypothesized that those receiving the food-specific GNG training (high intensity and low intensity groups) would experience greater improvement in outcome measures than those in the nonfood GNG group and that a similar pattern would result between the high intensity and low intensity food-specific GNG groups. Moderators (e.g., dietary restraint, disinhibition) were explored, along with the mechanism of food devaluation. Results of repeated measures ANCOVA's (controlling for BMI and dieting status) for all outcome variables revealed there was no significant difference between groups across time. No studied variable was found to moderate the effects of the training, and the devaluation of foods did not mediate the relationship between GNG training and weight loss. Therefore, regardless of dosage, the GNG training did not have a meaningful effect on any of the outcomes assessed. Future research should focus on identifying the underlying mechanism of food-specific GNG training and its interaction with person specific characteristics.
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    The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Early Childhood Mental Health and Mental Health Service Utilization in a Clinical Sample
    (2023-05) Marsolek, Marissa Kate
    The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young children’s mental health and their engagement in mental health services. Previous research investigating the impact of COVID-19 on children’s mental health and their utilization of mental health services has rarely included children under 5 years of age thus far, and studies that have included this age range have not made this age group the main focus. Children, especially young children, rely on their caregivers to know how to cope and how they should feel during stressful events (Silverman & La Greca, 2002). Therefore, the first aim of this study was to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic and the caregiver-child relationship impacted children’s mental health symptoms. The second aim of the study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 and the child’s symptom presentation on families’ engagement and attendance in mental health treatment. Data were collected on children aged 0 to 5 years old (N = 343) from January 2017 to April 2022 by using archival medical records in collaboration with a local community mental health organization. Results found that the caregiver-child relationship had a significant impact on clinically significant mental health symptoms in children, regardless of whether the data was collected before or after COVID-19 began. It also found that both caregivers and children were rated as less engaged after the pandemic began if the child was experiencing externalizing symptoms. Further, the results displayed that children received less therapy sessions after the pandemic began, and that families received a similar number of overall services in both time periods regardless of symptom presentation.
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    The Effects of Matching Process Rationale with Client Expectations on Client Perceptions
    (2022-06) Pegel, Grace A
    The aim of this analogue study was to experimentally manipulate the match between psychotherapist presentation of change mechanisms when presenting a treatment rationale with participant mechanism expectations to examine the impact of matching on therapy perceptions. Participants viewed a video of a therapist presenting a treatment rationale and were randomized to hear a change rationale that either matched, did not match, or remained neutral relative to their expectations. Participants then completed measures of therapy perceptions. A series of one-way ANOVA tests were conducted to compare differences across process measures between groups. Results suggested that presentation of a change mechanism may improve some perceptions of the therapy, regardless of whether it matched expectations, but only when there is accurate recall of the change mechanism.
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    Examination of the Effectiveness of Mental Health First Aid Among the Public: A Meta-Analysis
    (2018-06) Maslowski, Amy K
    Mental health conditions are prevalent and can significantly impact a person's functioning; however, it can be challenging for an untrained individual to know when or how to provide assistance to a person experiencing a mental health concern. Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) was developed to provide people with training and guidelines to improve their mental health literacy, decrease stigma, and increase their confidence and willingness to offer aid to individuals experiencing a mental health disorder or crisis. Given recent initiatives to expand the implementation of MHFA programs and increased efforts to evaluate it with more rigorous designs, a comprehensive and systematic review of the evidence base is warranted. This study investigated and quantified, via meta-analytic methodology, MHFA outcomes (i.e., knowledge, attitude, behavior) for the training participant as well as both a quantitative and narrative review for the individual experiencing a mental health disorder or crisis. We conducted a comprehensive search for eligible studies that utilized either a control or comparison group. This resulted in 15 studies for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Small-to-moderate effect sizes were found for the primary outcomes for the trainees; however, preliminary evidence suggests effects for the recipients were more difficult to observe. Study quality had a significant moderating effect. Overall, MHFA appears to be an effective intervention for increasing knowledge about mental health, decreasing stigma and social distance, and increasing trainees' confidence in approaching and providing aid to an individual experiencing a mental health disorder or crisis. Considerably greater attention and effort in demonstrating effects on recipients is needed with future empirical investigations.
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    Examination of the Effectiveness of Physical Activity Interventions on the Wellbeing of Caregivers of Older Adults: A Meta-Analysis
    (2021-06) Marshall, Elaine
    Caregivers of older adults afflicted with a variety of chronic physical and mental health conditions provide vital support and assistance for this growing population. Although essential, many individuals in this time-consuming role are unprepared older adults themselves, which creates significant burdens on their own mental and physical health. Caregivers are at risk for depression, loneliness, and reduced health related to chronic stress. Evidence suggests that physical activity (PA) interventions alleviate aspects of this burden and psychological distress, as well as provide benefits to physical health. However, there are notable limitations in the previous reviews that have attempted to synthesize the evidence for the benefits of PA interventions. Using meta-analytic methodology, this study investigated and quantified the impact of PA interventions on different domains of mental and physical health for caregivers of older adults. A comprehensive search yielded 25 controlled studies. PA interventions led to small-to-medium effects on mental health, with the most notable impact on quality of life. PA interventions led to trivial effects on physical health, with small but significant effects found for mobility outcomes. Moderator analyses revealed that yoga interventions, study quality, and duration of interventions had significant moderating effects. PA interventions appear to be effective for improving caregiver health, particularly in relation to psychological health. Further high-quality research using standardized measures for health domains is needed to determine the type, format, and length of PA interventions that best serve different caregiving populations.
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    An Experimental Examination of Misconception Corrections Across Health Domains and Potential Backfire Effect
    (2020-05-29) Damsgard, Erika
    The endorsement of misconceptions, unlike ignorance, may be deep-rooted (Hammer, 1996) and can be challenging to correct (Walter & Murphy, 2018). These erroneous beliefs are prevalent in a variety of areas, including several health domains (e.g., vaccinations; complementary and alternative medicine; diet and exercise; and mental health) and may lead to harmful consequences. Unfortunately, efforts to reduce misconceptions may, in some circumstances, result in backfire effects, whereby incorrect information is misremembered as fact (Lewandowsky et al., 2012). This study aimed to examine the effects of myth debunking posters formatted based upon an actual flu vaccination campaign (CDC, n.d.) and applied to multiple health-related domains. Moreover, a potential backfire effect stemming from presentation format was investigated. Using a 3 (poster condition) x 2 (time of assessment) between subject factorial experimental design, 218 participants completed one of six conditions: (a) Myths and Facts - immediate, (b) Facts Only - immediate, (c) Control - immediate, (d) Myths and Facts - delay, (e) Facts Only - delay, and (f) Control - delay. There was a significant and large main effect for poster condition on overall accurate knowledge, as well as for each targeted domain, in which those in the Myths and Facts and Facts Only conditions accurately identified significantly more information than the Control Condition. No backfire effect for poster format nor illusion of truth effect was detected. Behavioral intentions were less obvious and revealed a more mixed pattern. Overall, the present data suggests that the format used to correct misinformation may be less important than the act of refuting. Future research will benefit from increasing delay periods, increasing variability in populations of myth debunking, expanding response format when measuring misconceptions, and translating increased knowledge to behavioral intentions (and change).
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    Experimental Manipulation of Mood States on Judgments of the Working Alliance and Alliance Ruptures
    (2021) McKnight, Kelly R
    The working alliance is a key component in the therapeutic process, regardless of the theoretical orientation, and is often linked to successful client outcomes. Though alliance is often assumed to lead to outcome, evidence of a causal direction of the alliance-outcome relationship remains ambiguous. It remains possible that the correlation represents the influence of outcome on perceptions of the alliance. Given that mood is known to influence other judgments and perceptions, it is possible that clients’ post-session mood might contribute to alliance ratings. The aim of this research was to test this alternative hypothesis that outcome may lead to alliance perceptions by using mood states as a proxy for client outcome. Clients (N = 177) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (a) negative mood induction or (b) positive mood induction to examine the impact of mood on their ratings of the alliance and alliance-related constructs. There were no statistically significant differences between mood conditions. Clients were not more likely to recall experiencing an alliance rupture depending on the mood condition, nor was an experienced rupture perceived as more intense or more poorly resolved in the negative mood condition. These findings do not support the alternative hypothesis that mood (a proxy for outcome) influences alliance perceptions. This could indicate that mood does not influence alliance perceptions or that clients are able to correct for the effect of mood on these judgments. Future research might replicate this study in other settings, client populations, or with specific types of therapies.
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    "The Freshman Fifteen" and Beyond: A Meta-Analysis
    (2016-05) Lammert, Hannah R
    The rising rates of overweight and obesity have led to concerns about the increased risk for developing several negative health consequences. Poor eating habits and lack of sufficient levels of physical activity contribute to an increase in adiposity and body weight. Not surprisingly, the transition to college is associated with a variety of lifestyle changes that may contribute to additional weight gain, such as poor sleep, alcohol consumption, poor nutrition, and increased sedentary behavior. Many individual studies have commented on and attempted to examine the phenomenon known as the "Freshman 15". The present meta-analysis intends to discern the patterns related to body weight and adiposity changes over the first year of college. In addition, this study examines these changes from the beginning of freshman year to the end of senior year of college, as well as potential moderators of weight gain and body composition changes. We conducted a search on seven electronic databases, resulting in 55 studies for inclusion in the metaanalysis. An overall mean weight gain of 0.74 kg (1.63 lbs) was found for freshman year and 0.90 kg (1.98 lbs) for the end of senior year. Increases in BMI, percent body fat, absolute fat mass, and waist circumference, and a decrease in fat-free mass were observed for both freshman year and senior year of college. Significant differences between males and females were found in weight and BMI change. Body composition changes in college are concerning because of the potential negative health behaviors and patterns that are carried into adulthood. Focus should be paid not only to the freshman year of college but also throughout students' experiences with college.
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    An Intuitive Eating Intervention for Healthy Living Among University Employees
    (2021-05) McCarthy, Hannah I
    Programs that target weight management typically employ restrictive eating strategies to achieve weight loss. Although short-term weight loss is often attained, these traditional diet programs have been associated with weight gain and higher psychological distress (e.g., Linardon & Mitchell, 2017). Increasingly, employers are offering worksite wellness programs to optimize employee productivity and decrease costs associated with health care coverage (Goetzel & Ozminkowski, 2008); however, data demonstrate that the typical diet interventions provided in the workplace have been insufficient (Osilla et al., 2012). An alternative approach to such dieting interventions is to emphasize intuitive eating (IE) over restrictive eating. IE is an approach to eating regulation that emphasizes eating in accordance with physiological hunger and satiety cues. Eating intuitively has been found to be associated with more positive body image, less disordered eating, lower body mass index (BMI), and lower psychological distress (Bruce & Ricciardelli, 2016; Tylka et al., 2015). However, many IE intervention studies lacked quality randomized controlled trials, had limited outcome measures, and did not include a long-term follow-up (e.g., Benedict & Arterburn, 2008; Bush et al., 2014; Tam & Yeung, 2018), The current study improved upon limitations in previous studies and assessed the effects of an 8 week intuitive eating intervention on university employees who were randomly assigned to an intuitive eating (n = 22) versus a waitlist control group (n = 20). We examined changes in intuitive eating, appetite awareness, self-efficacy related controlling eating and weight, body satisfaction, BMI, life satisfaction, and work absenteeism both across intervention conditions and over time (baseline vs. post intervention) using multilevel modeling. The IE intervention appeared modestly effective in increasing participants’ awareness and knowledge of eating intuitively. However, across other variables, the IE group showed small, but non-statistically significant improvements in comparison to the control group. Use of IE with larger samples could better clarify the impact of an IE intervention. It may also be that an IE intervention alone may not be effective without additional components such as mindfulness or strategies targeting self-efficacy to change. Additional research focused on establishing a better understanding of factors that facilitate increases in intuitive eating habits and associated changes could be helpful.