Which elements in the treatment of eating disorders are necessary 'ingredients' in the recovery process?--A comparison between the patient's and therapist's view.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about which therapeutic 'ingredients' in the treatment of eating disorders (anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED)) are needed for recovery. Remarkably, most studies on this topic have neglected the patient's view.


METHODS
In this study, a large sample of eating disorder patients (n = 132) was invited to evaluate which elements in the treatment they consider to be helpful and effective in their recovery process. These results were compared to the view of 49 eating disorder experts.


RESULTS
Following the patient's view, 'improving self-esteem', 'improving body experience' and 'learning problem solving skills', were considered as core elements in their treatment. No major differences were found between the different patient samples when comparing the patient's and therapist's view.


CONCLUSIONS
The findings suggest that therapists and patients share more or less the same view about the basic and effective elements in the treatment.
Vanderlinden
J
J
University Center St-Jozef, Kortenberg, Belgium. johan.vanderlinden@uc-kortenberg.be
Buis
H
H
Pieters
G
G
Probst
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001530:Belgium; D052018:Bulimia Nervosa / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods*