Working with Family Members

Studies in which family members of patients with eating disorders were asked about their needs show that family members often identify large gaps in knowledge and skills in themselves and also feel inadequately supported and advised by professionals. Recent research suggests that family members can contribute to the development of dysfunctional interpersonal vicious circles through their behavior and thus inadvertently contribute to the maintenance of eating disorder symptoms. International guidelines recommend the earliest possible involvement of family members in the treatment of eating disorders. Goals of working with family include, among other things, providing them with specific knowledge about symptoms, risks, treatment, and prognosis of eating disorders and teaching them skills to recognize and specifically address dysfunctional interpersonal vicious circles that maintain the illness.