Partnering with patients and families to develop an innovative multifamily therapy group treatment for adults with anorexia nervosa

Abstract

While clinical practice recognises and research findings reveal an association between social functioning and relationships with close others and recovery for adults with Anorexia Nervosa (AN), few treatment modalities comprehensively address the social conditions that contribute to and sustain AN. This post-treatment qualitative retrospective study engaged Multifamily Therapy Group (MFTG) alumni as co-investigators in the development and evaluation of a new and innovative Relational/Motivational model of MFTG (MFTG-RM) [Tantillo, M., Sanftner, J., & Hauenstein, E. (2013). Restoring connection in the face of disconnection: An integrative approach to understanding and treating anorexia nervosa. Advances in Eating Disorders: Theory, Research and Practice, 1(1), 21–38.] for adults with AN. Ten families (N = 17) comprising 5 adult patients (ages 20–34, M = 23.4, SD = 5.98), 9 mothers, and 3 fathers participated in one of 2 two-hour study focus groups. Qualitative content analysis was used to code text data an...