Patients' evaluation of their former treatment for anorexia nervosa (AN)

Brinch M, Isager T, Tolstrup K. Patients' evaluation of their former treatment for anorexia nervosa (AN).Out of 151 probands in a long-term follow-up of anorexia nervosa (AN), 64 had been treated in a department of child psychiatry. Fifty-three of these were personally interviewed 4-22 years after admission. As well as many other topics, the probands were asked about their attitude to the treatment. Only 11 were mainly positive, 20 had mixed feelings or were neutral, and 22 were mostly negative. There were no clear distinctions between the attitudes of former in- and out-patients. There was no correlation between outcome and the probands' evaluations. The positive or negative feelings regarding the treatment did not seem to change during the follow-up period. The number of psychotherapeutic sessions did not influence the attitude of the probands, neither positively nor negatively. The qualitative answers showed that the acceptability of the treatment was low with regard to the restricting interventions and that many had the feeling of being treated more as a diagnosis than as a person.