Patients' Perspective of Treatment in Eating Disorders: A Preliminary Study

The patient's perspective of treatment is seldom considered when psychological interventions are evaluated. Our aim was to undertake a qualitative study to assess the patients' viewpoint of what was helpful as well as harmful about the treatment they have completed. Twenty-one female referrals to an outpatient university-based eating disorders service (10 anorexia nervosa and 11 bulimia nervosa, mean age = 24.7 years, SD = 9.8) were interviewed on average one year after completion of either family counselling or cognitive-behavioural treatment. Most patients reported improvements as a result of treatment, although our formal assessment was more cautious. Patients identified psychoeducation, a supportive environment, challenging of dysfunctional beliefs, and behavioural strategies as helpful components of treatment. A significant minority felt that causes of the illness were dealt with inadequately, and that behavioural strategies were insufficient when symptoms were too overpowering. This study shows that gaining the patient's perspective of therapy could provide clinicians with helpful feedback to improve treatment for this challenging patient population.