Applying emotion-focused therapy to work with the ‘anorexic voice’ within anorexia nervosa: a brief intervention

Hibbs, Rebecca, Pugh, Mathew and Fox, John R.E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3039-8024 2021. Applying emotion-focused therapy to work with the ‘anorexic voice’ within anorexia nervosa: a brief intervention. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration 31 (4) , pp. 327-347. 10.1037/int0000252

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Abstract

Existent treatments for anorexia nervosa (AN) have produced dissatisfactory outcomes. Research suggests that many people with AN experience an internal “voice” that is related to eating disorder symptoms and relapse. This study was designed to consider the feasibility and acceptability of a new emotion-focused therapy (EFT) of AN, which is designed to work directly with the anorexic voice (AV; EFT-AV). Six adult clients diagnosed with AN who were experiencing an AV and awaiting psychological treatment were recruited from an adult outpatient service. Informed by EFT and previous AV research, the intervention involved six weekly individual sessions that focused on transforming AV experiences and promoting self-compassion. Participants completed standardized measures of eating disorder symptoms, relating to the AV, illness beliefs, motivation to change, and hope of recovery. Participants were also interviewed at the conclusion of the intervention to ascertain their views of on its acceptability. Findings suggested good recruitment, retention, and treatment adherence, which supported the feasibility of the EFT-AV intervention. Thematic analysis of participant interviews indicated the intervention was acceptable and tolerable. Future directions for the treatment of AN, including the potential value of EFT-AV as an adjunct to existing therapies, are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Publisher:	American Psychological Association / Springer Verlag (Germany)
ISSN:	1053-0479
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	7 January 2021
Date of Acceptance:	29 October 2020
Last Modified:	29 Nov 2024 09:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/137390

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