Anorexia, Maudsley and an impressive recovery: one family's story.
Ann was first diagnosed with anorexia nervosa at the age of 14 years. For two years she maintained unshakeable delusions that her body was grossly obese and that she did not require food to live. Her rational thought processes were swamped by overwhelming emotions of fear, self-loathing, rage and despair. She developed obsessive and compulsive behaviours, her reactions to food were phobic, she withdrew from social contact, was flooded by suicidal thoughts and had periods of self-harming. For 16 months after diagnosis Ann was seen by a variety of medical professionals who prescribed a range of treatments, some of which were life saving but none of which, crucially, had any appreciable impact on the long-term course of her illness. She then began treatment following the family-based Maudsley Approach which encourages parents to develop and maintain a programme of weight gain for their child. Six months after starting Maudsley Ann achieved a healthy body weight and all of her psychiatric symptoms began to disappear spontaneously. Over the next five months Ann's physical and mental health continued to improve dramatically. She has made a full recovery and has shown no sign of relapse for over 12 months.
D000293:Adolescent; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009517:New South Wales; D009771:Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / Q000523:psychology; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D012944:Social Support; D016896:Treatment Outcome