Alternatives to Inpatient Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa in Childhood and Adolescence—Day Patient Treatment and Home Treatment

In Germany and other European countries, inpatient treatment for children and adolescents, as well as adults with anorexia nervosa (AN), has continuously increased (Stat. Bundesamt 2019; e.g., Cruz et al. 2018), although there are significant doubts that inpatient therapy is superior to other forms of treatment. In a European follow-up study spanning more than six years with adolescent patients, 50% had to receive inpatient treatment a second time (Steinhausen et al. 2009); in a more recent Australian study, more than a third were readmitted within one year, regardless of the duration of the first inpatient stay (Madden et al. 2015). Additionally, many adolescents and especially children feel forced into inpatient admission and suffer from severe homesickness.