Background
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a serious mental illness with one of the highest mortality rates among mental health disorders in children, adolescents and young adults. AN usually begins in adolescence and can affect the patient’s health for many years during this critical developmental phase.
Many individuals manage to recover, but often only after hospitalisation, which usually lasts 3-6 months. During this time, the usual social contact is interrupted and the strategies to manage the illness learned during the hospital stay are sometimes difficult to implement in everyday life. Since approximately one third of patients experience relapse or develop a chronic course of illness, there is an urgent need to improve outpatient treatment options.
Evidence from English-speaking countries suggests that outpatient family-based therapy (FBT) can help many young people with eating disorders. Compared to other forms of outpatient therapy, FBT has been able to shorten or even prevent hospital stays. In England and the USA, FBT has established itself as the treatment of choice for children and adolescents with AN. One advantage of FBT is that patients can recover in their familiar surroundings. In addition, the family is actively involved as a central and long-term resource for recovery. However, FBT has not frequently been offered in Germany until now, due to a lack of reliable studies on its effectiveness within the German healthcare system and a limited availability of trained FBT therapists.
"Admitting our daughter to hospital at the onset of her anorexia was vital, allowing us to take a breather and relinquish responsibility for the time being. It laid the foundation for successful further treatment in the FBT setting at home."
Feedback from a family who received FBT at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin.