Introduction: (Online-)Shopping disorder can be understood as a specifc internet use disorder or the virtual equivalent of offine compulsive buying shopping disorder. This article summarizes treatment recommendations for shop-ping disorder in accordance with the German Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Internet Use Disorders. Meth-ods: The recommendations are based on a preregistered systematic literature review (Müller et al., 2023). In addition, fnd-ings of previous systematic reviews were considered.
Results: None of the studies explicitly addressed online shopping. The results of four controlled psychotherapy trials indicate that cognitive behavioral therapy reduces compulsive buying-shop-ping. Three placebo-controlled trials utilizing selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or topiramate demonstrated no superi-ority of the drug over placebo. The studies were limited by methodological weaknesses and high risk of reporting bias.
Conclusions: Cognitive behavioral therapy is considered benefcial and should be offered to individuals with shopping disorder. There is a need for high-quality research with more emphasis on online shopping, mechanisms of change, and the combina-tion of face-to-face and computer-based interventions (e.g., cue exposure training, cognitive bias modifcation). More re-search into the neurobiology of shopping disorder is essential to further develop pharmacological treatment approaches.