Emotion‐focused therapy in a case of anorexia nervosa

An emotion‐focused approach to the treatment of eating disorders and to case formulation is described in an individual with anorexia nervosa (AN). The basic theory of emotion‐focused therapy (EFT), the steps of case formulation and an outline of the tasks and course of treatment of an individual recently hospitalized on an inpatient unit for eating disorders highlight key aspects of the approach. The transformation in this individual, in terms of gaining access to her internal experience, understanding and tolerating her emotions, and working through her core themes of insecure attachment and worthlessness, is described. Weight and scores on self‐report measures at the outset of treatment and at 18 months are provided. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message: Guidelines for treating eating disorders are tenuous and new approaches showing promise must be developed. Emotion‐focused therapy (EFT) shows promise in the treatment of eating disorders. Description of the case shows the application of EFT to anorexia nervosa and illustrates the change in the individual in terms of recognizing and coping with emotional experience.