Paper 1 : a systematic synthesis of narrative therapy treatment components for the treatment of eating disorders

Background: There are presently a number of eating disorder treatment interventions that have a research-evidence base to support their effectiveness. However, rates of attrition and treatment outcomes demonstrate that there is no one-size fits all for the treatment of eating disorders. Narrative therapy is a promising, but under-researched, intervention for the treatment of eating disorders (EDs). The aim of this study was to conduct a narrative synthesis of the literature to explore the content and use of narrative therapy in the treatment of EDs. Method: Data were extracted from 33 eligible included studies following systematic search of five data bases. Data included aims and objectives, sample characteristics, treatment details and components of narrative therapy, which informed the narrative synthesis. The study is reported according to the Preferred Reporting items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Results: Narrative therapy interventions for EDs consisted of several components including the narrative worldview; unpacking the problem story; finding, thickening the meaning and performance of stories hidden by the problem story; and safety considerations. A notable proportion of the extracted articles discussed components of unpacking problem stories, and finding and re-authoring openings (or unique outcomes) that were hidden by problematic stories. Relatively fewer papers discussed the processes by identity shifts were performed or lived out, including in the eating practices of those with a lived ED experience. Furthermore, few papers addressed how therapists established client safety within the narrative framework when working with EDs. Conclusion: This narrative synthesis found that narrative practitioners utilise a variety of narrative therapy techniques in working with individuals with a lived ED experience. The current literature has emphasis on specific narrative therapy techniques used in ED treatments, with some aspects of the narrative worldview and safety considerations left undiscussed. Additional research is needed to explore how identity shifts in narrative therapy are performed and lead to measurable behavioural changes, and to consider how safety considerations can be established within the narrative worldview. Plain English summary: There are a number of psychological therapies for eating disorders that have research evidence-base. These treatments, however, do not work for everyone as indicated by drop-out rates and eating disorders running a severe and enduring course for some people. Narrative therapy is a therapeutic intervention that has been reported as a promising intervention for people with an eating disorder. The focus of narrative therapy is to engage the person in finding identities hidden by problem-saturated identities and in the performance of these hidden identities. In this review, we have explored the use of narrative therapy for eating disorders to identify what aspects of this therapy are currently being used and which components are less referenced in the literature. Findings from this study support the need for further research into narrative therapy components in the treatment of eating disorders, particularly how hidden identities are performed and safety considerations are integrated into this therapeutic intervention

Perspectives on barriers to treatment engagement of people with eating disorder symptoms who have not undergone treatment : a qualitative study

Background: Many people with an eating disorder (ED) never engage with an evidence-based ED treatment. Of the few studies that have qualitatively explored barriers to receiving treatment, some do so in relation to mental health conditions in general, and others focus on participants who have already undergone treatment. This study aims to address this gap in the literature by exploring the barriers to ED treatment engagement from the perspectives of individuals in the community with an ED (either self-identified or professionally diagnosed) and had not received ED treatment/s. Method: Fifty-six of 772 participants in an online Eating Disorders Treatment Experience survey had self-identified as having symptoms consistent with an ED, or had received a diagnosis of an ED and indicated that they had never undergone treatment for an ED. They were asked to share the reasons for which they did not receive treatment with an open-ended question. Qualitative analysis of survey responses was completed using the Framework Method to generate overarching themes that encapsulated the diverse participant accounts. Results: The thematic analysis generated two main themes, each with two subthemes. The first theme was the negotiation of the need for treatment within oneself (intrapersonal factors; theme 1). The second theme explored interpersonal contexts that shaped the participant’s decision not to seek treatment (interpersonal/external factors; theme 2). Two cross-cutting subthemes of fear and health literacy were also generated that demonstrated a high degree of overlap with the aforementioned main themes. Conclusions: The process by which individuals decide whether or not to engage with ED treatment services is complex and involves intra- and interpersonal negotiations intertwined with health literacy and fear. A factor not prominent in previous research was negative self-perceptions and the belief of being undeserving of treatment. These factors have implications for ongoing community and clinical interventions to further address barriers to ED treatment engagement

Conceptualisation of severe and enduring anorexia nervosa : a qualitative meta-synthesis

Background: Severe and enduring anorexia nervosa (SE-AN) is amongst the most impairing of all mental illnesses. Collective uncertainties about SE-AN nosology impacts treatment refinement. Qualitative research, particularly lived experience literature, can contribute to a process of revision and enrichment of understanding the SE-AN experience and further develop treatment interventions. Poor outcomes to date, as evidenced in clinical trials and mortality for people with SE-AN (1 in 20) demonstrate the need for research that informs conceptualisations and novel treatment directions. This interpretative, meta-ethnographic meta-synthesis aimed to bridge this gap. Methods: A systematic search for qualitative studies that explored the AN experiences of people with a duration of greater than 3 years was undertaken. These studies included those that encompassed phenomenology, treatment experiences and recovery. Results: 36 papers, comprising 382 voices of SE-AN experiences informed the meta-ethnographic findings. Four higher order constructs were generated through a synthesis of themes and participant extracts cited in the extracted papers: (1) Vulnerable sense of self (2) Intra-psychic processes (3) Global impoverishment (4) Inter-psychic temporal processes. Running across these meta-themes were three cross cutting themes (i) Treatment: help versus harm, (ii) Shifts in control (iii) Hope versus hopelessness. These meta-themes were integrated into conceptualisations of SE-AN that was experienced as a recursive process of existential self-in-relation to other and the anorexia nervosa trap. Conclusions: The alternative conceptualisation of SE-AN proposed in this paper poses a challenge to current conceptualisations of AN and calls for treatments to engage with the complex intra and inter-psychic processes of the SE-AN, more fully. In doing so, clinicians and researchers are asked to continue to be bold in testing novel ideas that may challenge our own rigidity and attachment to dominant paradigms to best serve the individual person with SE-AN. The ‘global impoverishment of self’, found in this synthesis of AN experiences, should inform proposed diagnostic criteria for SE-AN

"As long as they eat"? Therapist experiences, dilemmas and identity negotiations of Maudsley and family-based therapy for anorexia nervosa

Background: Maudsley Family Therapy and its manualised version Family-Based Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa (FBT-AN) have accrued the most significant research evidence-base for the treatment of adolescent Anorexia Nervosa (AN). A tradition of seeking augmentations for this treatment has also been established to enhance efficacy. There exists, however, a gap in the uptake of this form of manualised treatment into the “real world” of clinicians who work with adolescent AN. Aims: This research study investigated the key experiences and identity negotiations of a group of nine Australian clinicians who were interested in contributing to research into ways that Maudsley and FBT-AN might be improved. Methods: Nine clinicians, who at the time of the interview practised or had previously practised, FBT-AN participated in a semi-structured interview. A critical discursive analysis of interview transcripts generated a thematic map of these therapists’ experiences and identity negotiations in their practice of FBT-AN. Results: These therapists experienced the structure of FBT-AN as both a secure map for therapy, yet also constraining at times, in their work with adolescents and their families. Additionally, their professional identities were both invested and troubled by the identity position of themselves as evidence-based practitioners, particularly where evidence-based practice (EBP) meant strict fidelity to the manual and restrained them from tailoring a broader range of therapeutic interventions to an individual adolescent and their family. Within their narratives, these therapists refashioned alternative identity positions around what it meant to be an evidence-based practitioner through listening to and drawing on their clinical expertise of what works in therapeutic practice with an individual adolescent and their family. Conclusions: These therapists narratives highlight the power of the dominant discourse of EBP that works to privilege the research evidence over other forms of evidence that include clinician expertise and client preferences. The dilemmas faced by these therapists questioned not only the strict application of FBT-AN for adolescent AN across diverse therapeutic contexts, but also the effects of supervisory practices that paralleled this strict fidelity to the model. Further research is needed into therapeutic interventions and supervisory practices that give greater scope for clinicians to draw on their expertise in the flexible tailoring of treatments to the unique needs and preferences of the individual adolescent and their family

"Finding my own identity" : a qualitative metasynthesis of adult anorexia nervosa treatment experiences

Background: The aim of this metasynthesis was to explore adult anorexia nervosa (AN) treatment experiences, including facilitators and barriers to treatment engagement and ways that questions of identity and personal agency were negotiated in treatment contexts. Methods: From 14 qualitative studies that met the search criteria, this thematic synthesis analyzed the sensitized concept of identity in the participants’ experiences of AN treatments, including their sense of personal agency, and implications for their recovery. The study was registered with Prospero (ID: CRD42018089259) and is reported according to PRISMA guidelines. Results: Three meta-themes were generated with the following key fndings: grappling with identity, where collaborative and tailored interventions were positively experienced; the quality of the therapeutic relationship, which existed in a recursive relationship; and, rebuilding identity that included therapists standing with the person in recovering a sense of identity outside the anorexic identity. Importantly, interventions that failed to be negotiated with the person were experienced as disempowering however, where a two-way trust existed in the therapeutic relationship, it critically empowered and shaped participants’ sense of identity, and broadened the perception that they were valuable as a person. Conclusions: There was consensus across the range of treatment contexts that individuals with a lived AN experience preferred treatments where they experienced (1) a sense of personal agency through tailored interventions; and (2) therapists who treated them as a person who, in the face of their struggles, had skills and capacities in the processes of recovering and rebuilding sustainable and preferred identities outside the AN identity

Conceptualising specialist supportive clinical management (SSCM) : current evidence and future directions

Background: Current evidence-based treatments for adult anorexia nervosa (AN) have limitations, with high attrition, very poor outcomes for 20% of people, and no clearly superior manualised therapy for adults with AN. Specialist Supportive Clinical Management (SSCM) was designed as a control treatment but has evolved as a valid first line treatment. The present paper aims to provide an overview of the evidence base for SSCM and a pedagogical reconceptualization with expansion by theoretical integration (TI). Body: A secondary meta-analysis endorses SSCM as a promising treatment. This paper positions SSCM as a manualised therapy for adult AN with six unique features, namely (1) a philosophy which is person-centred, non-prescriptive, and informed by the person’s strengths and values, (2) a focus on the person through inclusion of supportive psychotherapy and problem (clinical management), within target symptoms as defined in relation to AN, (3) a flexible and responsive therapy that could be delivered by a variety of clinicians with experience treating AN (4) a commitment to reversing starvation though a directional approach and a defined yet flexible stance on dietetic intervention (5) a commitment to the therapeutic relationship within all three phases of treatment, and (6) a therapy ‘uncluttered’ by specific mandates. In addition, this paper positions SSCM as a treatment that may be strengthened by other modalities and may also be adapted to the treatment of other eating disorders (ED), not just AN. The level of therapist sophistication to deliver upon the supportive psychotherapy component is explored and future directions are offered. Conclusion: SSCM is a unique and valid first line treatment for AN and would benefit from further expansion in line with emerging understandings of AN to strengthen it as a treatment. Speculation on aspects of potency would benefit from further testing. The proposed re-conceptualisation of SSCM in the context of its evidence may strengthen it as a treatment overall, position it as adaptable for treatment of other eating disorders and make it more accessible to clinicians

Current approaches in the recognition and management of eating disorders

Eating disorders are now well acknowledged mental health problems that are common and present in people from diverse sociodemographic backgrounds. The past decade has seen a rapid expansion in research into eating disorder interventions. In response to the increasing burden of eating disorders, the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care has implemented significant policy changes to improve patient access to Medicare and inpatient treatment facilities. There are several international clinical practice guidelines and a robust evidence base particularly for first line care with specific psychological therapies, including guidelines for the management of eating disorders in individuals with a high weight. Medications play an important adjunct role in care, and novel neuromodulating treatments, such as psychostimulants, are under study. There is emerging evidence for increased person‐centred care, with more choice in the form of alternatives to hospital inpatient programs and more respectful consideration of care for all who experience an eating disorder, including people with high weight

A systematic review of people’s lived experiences of inpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa : living in a “bubble”

Background: Treatment for anorexia nervosa (AN) is typically delivered on a continuum of care, starting with outpatient treatment, and moving onto intensive outpatient, day or residential treatment and/or inpatient hospitalisation. However, minimal attention has been afforded to the lived experiences of persons undergoing inpatient treatment for AN. In particular, qualitative literature pertaining to the lived experiences of specialist inpatient or residential treatment of AN remains fragmented and incomplete. The aim of this review was to synthesise current literature exploring patients' lived experiences of residential and inpatient treatment for AN within eating disorder-specific treatment services. Methods: Five databases were searched and a qualitative thematic systematic review and meta-synthesis of 11 studies were conducted. Results: Eleven studies of 159 participants were included. Four meta-themes were constructed from the data: (1) a medical discourse-"I don't think it's individualised here"; (2) restrictive practice-living in a "bubble"; (3) myself, others and "a similar demon"; and (4) I am "not just another anorexic". The data also revealed two cross-cutting themes: (1) more than a single experience; and (2) meaning making and identity. Conclusions: These findings highlight the complex and multifaceted nature of the inpatient treatment experience as well as the inherent conflicts in balancing the necessity of medical and psychological intervention with person-centred treatment approaches in the treatment of AN

"It also taught me a lot about myself" : a qualitative exploration of how men understand eating disorder recovery

Eating Disorders (ED) are relatively common in the general population. However, perceived as “female disorders”, EDs in men are often overlooked. Although recovery is often seen as the ideal end goal of ED, there is no single universal definition of recovery. Recovery can be defined in terms of: physical changes, behavioural changes, psychological (cognitive and emotional) and improved quality of life. There is very little research exploring how people with ED define/ understand what recovery is and there is even less research involving men with ED. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore recovery from men’s perspective

"I'm still here, but no one hears you" : a qualitative study of young women's experiences of persistent distress post family-based treatment for adolescent anorexia nervosa

Background: Family-based treatment (FBT) is the current treatment of choice for adolescent AN based on positive outcomes that include weight restoration in around two-thirds of adolescents. Nevertheless around a quarter dropout from treatment, particularly in the earlier phases, and a notable proportion of treated adolescents are reported to experience ongoing psychological distress during and post-treatment. This study explores the under-researched experiences of these adolescents. Method: Fourteen participants from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom were interviewed about their experiences of FBT. An inductive thematic analysis of interview transcript data generated key themes related to their experiences, identity negotiations and the discursive materials these used to construct these. Results: The participants identified working as a family unit as key to their recovery, highlighting the importance of family therapy interventions for adolescent AN. However, they perceived an almost exclusive focus on weight restoration in the first phase of FBT was associated with experiences that included a relative neglect of their psychological distress and a loss of voice. Key within these experiences were processes whereby the adolescent engaged in identity negotiation and (re)claiming of their voice and implicit in their family standing with them in the treatment was that their life was worth saving. What was noted as most helpful was when therapists advocated and took into consideration their unique needs and preferences and tailored treatment interventions to these. Conclusions: There is a need to develop and research treatments that address, from the outset of treatment, the adolescents’ psychological distress (including as experienced in the context of their weight restoration). This should be with priority accorded to the adolescent’s voice and identity negotiations, as they and their families take steps to address the physical crisis of AN and in doing so, support more holistic and durable recovery