Which Criteria for Recovery Are Relevant According to Eating Disorder Patients and Therapists?

In the treatment of eating disorders (ED), no consensus exists on relevant criteria for recovery and goals for treatment. Which criteria do ED patients and therapists evaluate as most relevant for recovery? And do patients and therapists differ in their evaluations? This article presents a review of research on the opinions about recovery criteria of former patients and therapists. Criteria most often mentioned by the patients could be divided into the following themes: eating and drinking; physical activity and exercising; attitude towards food and weight; body evaluation; relaxation; physical recovery; psychological recovery; emotion regulation; social relations; sexual attitude; and comorbidity. Only slight differences were found between the opinions of former patients and therapists.