Comparing the Effectiveness of Two Therapies to Treat Signs of Anorexia Nervosa in Adolescents

The goal of FBT is to resolve the eating disorder and return the patient to healthy psychosocial and physiological development through active family involvement across three treatment phases. In Phase I, therapy is focused on the disordered eating. The therapist primarily makes careful, persistent requests for united parental action toward re-feeding and/or regulating eating habits and directs the discussion so as to create and reinforce a strong parental alliance around their efforts at feeding their child. In Phase II, the goal is to gradually transfer control over eating back to the participant, with the parents still maintaining general oversight and responsibility for continued progression toward healthy habits. In Phase III, the central goal is establishment of a healthy child or adolescent relationship with the parents where disordered eating is not the basis of interaction.

The goal of ISP is for the patient to understand and address the psychological issues underlying the origin and maintenance of the eating disorder. This work is done directly with the child/adolescent. In this treatment, eating disorders are seen as complicated (e.g., they tend to mask other underlying difficulties). In Phase I, the aims are to establish a sound therapeutic relationship, obtain a comprehensive description of the eating problem and its development, identify underlying problems that might be responsible for the disordered eating, and inform the patient about the dangers of eating disorders. Phase II encourages participants to explore underlying emotional problems, facilitates self-disclosure and expression of feelings, and fosters independence. Phase III focuses on how other underlying issues might affect future adjustment.