Research Article

The assessment of the family of people with eating disorders

  1. J. Treasure1,*,
  2. A. R. Sepulveda1,
  3. P. MacDonald1,
  4. W. Whitaker2,
  5. C. Lopez1,
  6. M. Zabala1,
  7. O. Kyriacou2,
  8. G. Todd2

Article first published online: 31 JAN 2008

DOI: 10.1002/erv.859

Issue

European Eating Disorders Review

European Eating Disorders Review

Volume 16, Issue 4, pages 247–255, July/August 2008

Additional Information

How to Cite

Treasure, J., Sepulveda, A. R., MacDonald, P., Whitaker, W., Lopez, C., Zabala, M., Kyriacou, O. and Todd, G. (2008), The assessment of the family of people with eating disorders. Eur. Eat. Disorders Rev., 16: 247–255. doi: 10.1002/erv.859

Author Information

  1. 1

    Psychological Medicine Department, King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK

  2. 2

    South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, London, UK

*Department Academic Psychiatry, 5th Floor Thomas Guy House, Guys Campus, London SE1 9RT, UK.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 14 JUL 2008
  2. Article first published online: 31 JAN 2008

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Keywords:

  • eating disorders;
  • carers;
  • assessment;
  • expressed emotion;
  • enabling behaviours;
  • accommodation

Abstract

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines for eating disorders recommend that carers should be provided with information and support and that their needs should be considered if relevant. The aim of this paper is to describe how to structure an assessment of carers needs so that the family factors that can contribute to the maintenance of eating disorder symptoms are examined. We describe in detail the pattern of interpersonal reactions that can result when a family member has an eating disorder. Shared traits such as anxiety, compulsivity and abnormal eating behaviours contribute to some of the misperceptions, misunderstandings and confusion about the meaning of the eating disorder for family members. Unhelpful attributions can fuel a variety of emotional reactions (criticism, hostility, overprotection, guilt and shame). Gradually these forces cause family members to accommodate to the illness or be drawn in to enable some of the core symptoms. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.

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