Treatment of adolescent anorexia nervosa

Adolescence is the most common period for the onset of anorexia nervosa. A growing body of quantitative evidence exists for treatment efficacy for adolescents. However, it is important, given the large dropout rates and high relapse rates that qualitative research attempts to understand how treatment and recovery is experienced by adolescents. Similarly, an appreciation for mothers' experience of treatment is vital given the evidence for high carer burden in this population and that families' involvement in treatment for anorexia nervosa is crucial. The first paper provides a review of the qualitative evidence looking at adolescents' experience of treatment and recovery for anorexia nervosa. The review made tentative yet important conclusions regarding crucial aspects of treatment and recovery for adolescents including the role of peers, families and professionals, physical and psychological nature of treatment and the adolescents' own concept of recovery. Methodological limitations of the studies and subsequent recommendations for future research were discussed in addition to clinical implications for future service delivery. The second paper adopts an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology in exploring mothers' experiences of home treatment for their adolescent daughters with anorexia nervosa. Nine mothers who had experience of home treatment for at least two weeks participated in the study. IPA revealed two key themes which provided an important context to home treatment: 'becoming enmeshed' and 'reaching rock bottom.' These themes described the mother-daughter relationships and maternal stress and distress prior to home treatment. The third theme 'experience of help' described participants' experience of when help is needed, the need for containment, gaining strength and skills and finally how home treatment fitted into the families own philosophy and values. The results provide important rich accounts on how home treatment is experienced and outline both the helpful and unhelpful aspects. Further research is required to assess its effectiveness.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo