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Yngvild Sørebø Danielsen
Photo: Yngvild S. Danielsen

Yngvild Sørebø Danielsen

Position

Associate Professor

Affiliation

E-mail
yngvild.danielsen@uib.no
Phone number
+47 55588863
Visitor address
Alrek helseklynge, Årstadveien 17
5009 Bergen
Postal address
P.O. Box 7807
NO-5020 Bergen
Norway

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Yngvild Sørebø Danielsen

Position

Associate Professor

Affiliation

Research

Research interests:

  • Treatment and psychological aspects of obesity
  • Sleep and weight
  • Etiology and treatment of eating disorders
  • Psychotherapy research (process and effectiveness)
  • Therapist training and deliberate practice

Danielsen is head of the research group Bergen Psychoteraphy Change Lab at the Department of Clinical Psychology. The group researches change processes and outcomes in psychotherapy, and good ways to train future therapists. The goal of the research is to describe how change happens in different forms of psychological treatment, and how we can train and develop good therapists.

She is also leader of the Research group for treatment of eating disorders (BEAT) at the Psychiatric Division in Helse Bergen and is part of the research group BarneBORG at the Obesity Outpatient Clinic in Helse Bergen. These research groups study the treatment of eating disorders and severe obesity. Danielsen is part of the steering group for the regional research registers for eating disorders and childhood obesity in Western Norway. She is also a member of the National Professional Council for Eating Disorder Treatment and the National Quality Register for Eating Disorders (NORSPIS).

Outreach

Examples of communication of knowledge to health professionals:

Books and book chapters: 

  • Lyngstad, Mette Bøe og Yngvild Sørebø Danielsen(2021): Drama og livsmestring. Kap.8 s.141-162. I Tjomsland, Hege Eikeland, Nina Grieg Viik og Geir Kåre Resaland; Folkehelse og livsmestring i fag, på tvers av fag og som en helhetlig tilnærming. Bergen. Fagbokforlaget.
  • Danielsen, Yngvild Sørebø. (2014). Fedme hos barn-Intervensjoner og atferdsendringer i praksis. Kommuneforlaget AS.
  • Danielsen, Yngvild Sørebø; Rekkedal, Guro. (2022). How may cognitive behavioural therapy help individuals with eating difficulties? 285-293. I: The Practical Handbook of Eating Difficulties. Pavilion Publishing.

Popular science articles: 

  • Skjåkødegård, Hanna Flækøy; Danielsen, Yngvild Sørebø. (2020). Søvn i behandling av fedme hos barn- Sammenheng mellom søvn og annen livsstilsatferd. Tidsskriftet SØVN.
  • Danielsen, Yngvild Sørebø. (2012). Fører lite søvn til overvekt hos barn? SØVN. 14-15

Pod casts: 

Lyngstad, Mette Bøe og Yngvild Danielsen (2021).Podcast i Lektor Lomsdalens infall:  Drama og livsmestring. A podcast for teachers

BOB-Cast: Bergen Public Library's pod cast. Det vanskelige regnestykket-Hvordan møter vi mennesker med overvekt og fedme? (2022) 

“It is often said that the key to weight loss is a simple calculation - fewer calories in than out - but in reality, it is very difficult to achieve lasting weight loss. This despite more knowledge about diet and exercise in the population than ever. How does this fit together? How are people with overweight and obesity met in the health service, what treatment are they offered, and what seems to work?This conversation is led by Marianne Clementine Håheim, interest policy advisor at ROS. In the sofa are Yngvild Sørebø Danielsen, Finn Markussen and Daniel Spjeld.” https://podtail.com/es/podcast/bobcast/det-vanskelige-regnestykket-hvordan-moter-vi-menne/

Internet resources: Website for health care professionals and parents to children with obesity. I have contributed by creating a parent module for  kostverktøyet.no 

https://www.kostverktoyet.no/

Education for health care professionals in clinical practice: 

Development of courses for health personnel in the treatment of overweight and obesity in children.

 https://www.siv.no/fra-kunnskap-til-handling-overvekt-og-fedme-hos-barn-og-unge#foredragsholdere

Development of treatment guidelines: Participant in an expert reference group for the development of new guidelines for prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents, organized by the Norwegian Directorate of Health (2023-)

Examples of communication in massmedia: 

https://www.dagensmedisin.no/barn-og-unge-eldre-ikke-bruk-folkehelse-fedme/studie-foreldre-var-ikke-klar-over-barnas-pusteforstyrrelser/317181

https://katarsisuib.no/nar-maten-tar/

https://www.tv2.no/nyheter/innenriks/sover-for-forskerne/12148941/

https://www.nettavisen.no/sovn/fedme/tykk-av-lite-sovn/s/12-95-2863471

https://forskning.no/internett-barn-og-ungdom-mat/fete-barn-sliter-ved-mye-skjermtid/686191

 

 

 

 

Teaching

Danielsen teaches various clinical topics on the professional program in psychology at the Univesity of Bergen (Profesjonsstudiet i psykologi). She is responsible for one of the largest treatment courses on the professional program (PROPSY311b). She teaches topics such as treatment of eating disorders and obesity, emotion-focused therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, sleep problems in children, case formulation / treatment plan and clinical psychological work with families, children and adolescents. She has also been Section Leader at the Psychological University Clinic for Children and Adolescents and has experience in supervising psychology students in clinical practice.

She has extensive experience in supervising master theses and has developed and taught courses in research methods at PhD level. She is a supervisor for several PhD candidates.

She has also been involved in developing ab education in obesity treatment in children “From knowledge to action - overweight and obesity in children and adolescents” for health professionals and has been teaching this course  in all health regions on several occasions. She has also been teaching on eating disorder treatment for health professionals in the “Body and self-esteem-program” financed by the Health Authorities of Western Norway.

Danielsen also has teaching experience from the studies in medicine, nursing, master in child welfare and clinical nutrition.

 

Publications
Conference abstract
Academic article
Conference poster
Conference lecture
Lecture
Media interview
Media feature article
Popular science article
Non-fiction monograph
Academic literature review
Letter to the editor
Academic book chapter
Master’s thesis
Doctoral thesis (PhD)
Non-fiction book chapter
Radio or TV participation

See a complete overview of publications in Cristin.

Projects

The eBATTLE Obesity- study

The eBATTLE obesity study is a multicenter RCT that investigates the effect of the drug semaglutide in the treatment of severe obesity in adolescents aged 12-18 years. It is a 60-week prospective pragmatic clinical trial consisting of two phases. Phase 1 is a single-arm feasibility study of a low-calorie intervention (eLED) over 8 weeks. The second phase of the study, which starts right after eLED, is a 52-week RCT, two-armed, double-blinded multicenter study that compares semaglutide versus placebo, as an addition to a family-based cognitive behavioral therapy for obesity (25 sessions; E-BT) mainly conducted through telehealth. 220 adolescents with severe obesity will be recruited to the first part of the study, and 150 to the RCT.

Duration: 2023-

REK-number:EU CT NR: 2023-506289-29-00

Funding: The study is funded by the program KlinBeForsk

Collaborators: The study is led and coordinated by the Center for Morbid Obesity at Vestfold Hospital  (PI: Professor Jøran Hjælmseth), but includes the specialized units for obesity treatment of children and adolescents in all health regions in Norway. Department of Digital Health Research, Oslo University Hospital. And an international advisory board from University of Queensland, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and University of Washington St. Louis.

Role: Member of the steering group, leader for work package (E-BT), training of health personnel in all health regions, mentor for postdoctoral fellow in the project, development of content for app as support tool for E-BT together with department for digital health research, OUS.

The FABO-study: A randomized controlled trial that evaluates the effect of family-based behavioral therapy for obesity in children and adolescents

The main objective of the FABO-study is to evaluate the effectiveness of family-based behavioral therapy, developed for work with lifestyle changes in families, compared to standard treatment for obesity in children and young people in a normal clinical setting in Norway. The study also examines sleep, physical activity, mental health, self-image and disturbed eating behavior in children and adolescents with severe obesity. https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-016-3755-9

Collaboration: The study is a collaborative project between the University of Bergen, The Obesity Outpatient Clinic at Haukeland University Hospital and Washington University, St. Louis, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh. (PI: Professor Petur Juliusson).

Role: Co-PI, researcher and main supervisor for PhD candidate in the project. Link to thesis: https://bora.uib.no/bora-xmlui/handle/11250/3057906

REK-number: 8109

Duration: 2014-2029

The study is funded by The Health Authorities of Western Norway, University of Bergen and The Norwegian Competence Service for Sleep Disorders (sovno).

EDIT-collaboration. International research collaboration on eating disorders in obesity treatment

https://www.editcollaboration.com/

The EDIT Collaboration is a collaboration between researchers, clinicians and users with the goal of improving treatment for people with obesity and eating disorders. There is a lack of knowledge about which factors in different interventions in obesity treatment can increase or decrease the risk of developing eating disorders. The same applies to individual characteristics that can affect the risk of developing eating disorders during and after obesity treatment. By conducting meta-analyses where data from lifestyle treatments for obesity from around the world are combined, this study tries to examine these objectives: 1) To identify characteristics of adolescents and adults with obesity that are associated with increased risk of developing eating disorders during and after obesity treatment 2) To deconstruct behavioral treatments aimed at obesity and examine whether subcomponents and strategies in the treatments increase or reduce the risk of developing eating disorders

Collaborators: The project is led by Hiba Jebeile at University of Sydney, but represents a collaboration between researchers from around the world.

Role: Contributes with data from the FABO-study to the meta-analyses, input to protocol, sits in specialist group that discusses/investigates dietary restraint as a risk factor for developing eating disorders

Cognitive behavioral therapy and emotion-focused therapy for depression. A randomized clinical trial In this study, we want to compare the effect of two treatment approaches that are in widespread use in public and private mental health care in Norway, Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and Emotion-focused therapy (EFT). The comparison will be done through a randomized controlled trial. The main objective will be to investigate whether the treatment method EFT has a similar effect on the treatment of depression as CBT. There is a need for more knowledge about what works for whom in psychological treatment of depression. We lack scientific knowledge about what characterizes treatment courses that have good and bad outcomes. Increased knowledge about who benefits from what, can help to better select which patients should be offered different treatment approaches, and in this way contribute to increased cost-effectiveness and better prioritization within mental health care. In this study, we want to investigate what characterizes processes that give satisfactory and less satisfactory outcomes within and across the conditions. In the study, we will investigate treatment effect, patient experiences and change processes for patients with moderate depression who participate in the intervention "Back to work". The intervention is a short-term treatment offered in the public mental health care and is aimed at people with depression and anxiety who experience a reduction in work ability. We will collect quantitative data in the form of self-report and analysis of video recordings of therapy courses. In addition, we will collect qualitative data in the form of interviews where we map user experiences among the involved patients.

Duration: 2020-2030

REK number: 180904

Funding sources: Norwegian Research Council, Institute for Psychological Counseling (IPR) and The Heath Authorities of Western Norway

Collaborators: Institute for Psychological Counseling (IPR). (PI: PhD. Jan Reidar Stiegler)

Role: Member of the steering group, researcher

Factors that affect treatment and dropout from eating disorder treatment in specialist health care

Eating disorders often involve a lot of ambivalence and anxiety related to undergoing treatment. It is one of the mental disorders that has the highest dropout from treatment and where many go untreated for a long time. The purpose of this study is to produce knowledge that can help us understand more about dropout from treatment for eating disorders and to help develop the treatment offered so that more people with eating disorders get good help. The study consists of several parts, in order to explore the perspective of the key stakeholders in the treatment of eating disorders - patients, therapists and general practitioners. Focus group interviews will be conducted with therapists and general practitioners, individual interviews with people who have chosen to end treatment for eating disorder before it was completed. Patients and general practitioners will also be invited to fill out an anonymous survey. Data from the regional register for treatment of eating disorders will also be analyzed to see which factors predict dropout from treatment, such as comorbidity, duration of eating disorder, severity of illness and network.

Duration: 2020-2031

REK number: 55304

Collaborators: The project is carried out by the Department of Clinical Psychology at the University of Bergen and the Regional Department of Eating Disorders at Haukeland University Hospital in collaboration with the userorganization Counseling on Eating Disorders Bergen, The General Medical Research Unit at NORCE and psychiatric outpatient clinics in the Bergen area.

Funding: The study is funded by the University of Bergen and The Haelth Authorities of Western Norway via double competence (DK) PhD-scholarship.

Role: Principal Investigator and main supervisor for PhD candidate in the project

 

Mindfulness and eating disorders

The project investigates the participants’ experiences with, and effects of, a mindfulness-based low-threshold intervention for eating disorders. The aim is to examine whether changes in problematic eating, were related to the participants’ changes in self-compassion from week to week. Further, we want to learn more about how it is to live with, and cope with, a problematic relationship with food over time, through conversation with the participants four years later. The project forms the basis for a doctoral degree for PhD fellow Anders Ohnstad, UiB.

Duration: 2022-2030

REK number: 353216

Collaborators: Counseling on eating disorders (user organization), Modum Bad, (PI: Associate Professor Ingrid Dundas).

Funding: University of Bergen

Role: Researcher, co-supervisor PhD candidate

Obesity and binge eating disorder: Prevalence, diagnosis and clinical implications

There is little knowledge about the prevalence of eating disorders among patients seeking treatment for severe obesity, and which screening tools for eating disorders work best for this group. The project will map eating disorder symptoms and symptoms of anxiety and depression in 200 patients with severe overweight who are referred to treatment for severe obesity at Haukeland University Hospital. The patients will undergo assessment with a wide range of questionnaires that address different types of eating disorder symptoms and disturbed eating behaviors that are common with obesity, as well as a comprehensive standardized clinical diagnostic interview (Eating Disorder Examination Interview). The aim of the project is to investigate the prevalence of eating disorders in adults seeking treatment for severe obesity, as well as compare the results from the different screening tools for eating disorders with the results from the clinical diagnostic interview.

REK number:634874

Duration: 2023-

Funding: The study is funded by Stiftelsen Dam and The Heath Authorities of Western Norway

Collaboration: The study is a collaboration between The Obesity Outpatient Clinic, Haukeland University Hospital, University of Bergen and the user organization Counseling on eating disorders. (PI: Chief Physician Pål Methlie)

Role: Part of the steering group, co-supervisor for PhD candidate, researcher

Cognitive behavioral therapy for eating disorders (CBT-E) in the treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN): a prospective multidisciplinary study

The study has as its main objective to evaluate the effectiveness of outpatient CBT-E in the treatment of patients with anorexia nervosa (age>16) at the Regional Department for Eating Disorders at Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, Norway. The study has a longitudinal design with five main measurement points: before treatment, at 3 months, at the end of treatment, 20 weeks after treatment and 12 months after treatment. Outcome measures are eating disorder psychopathology, BMI, bone density, other symptoms of mental disorders, quality of life and changes in potassium, venous base, estradiol and FSH measured from blood samples. Biological samples are also collected in a biobank, for the purpose of analyzing gut microbiome and genetic variables. Sub-studies focus on therapeutic alliance in the treatment of eating disorders and excessive/compulsive exercise in AN. A comparison group without eating disorders will also be recruited. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5053175/

Duration: 2015-2026

REK number 2328

Collaboration: The study is a collaboration between the Regional Department for Eating Disorders at Haukeland University Hospital, University of Bergen and has international partners at University of Oxford and Department of Eating and weight disorders at Villa Garda, Verona, Italy. (PI: Chief Physician Ute Kessler)

Funding: The study is funded by the Health authorities of Western Norway and  the Norwegian Competence Service for Sleep Disorders (sovno)

Role: Co-PI, researcher

How do adults with severe overweight understand their own weight development from childhood to present? A qualitative study

The purpose of the study is to investigate how people with severe overweight themselves experience and explain their weight development from childhood to present. Such knowledge is important both to increase the understanding of how obesity develops, in improving treatment options and in meeting the individual user with severe overweight in health services. 10 people with severe overweight (BMI over 35) have been recruited to the study via information to user organizations and treatment sites for severe overweight. Qualitative in-depth interviews have been conducted with informants and transcribed interview data will be analyzed using thematic analysis. Qualitative in-depth interviews are chosen as a method because we want to know more about the informants' own experience and understanding of how and why their overweight has developed. The goal is a deeper understanding of these phenomena.

Duration: 2019-2027

REK-identifier: 47767

Role: Principal investigator, researcher