The experience and management of emotions on an inpatient setting for people with anorexia nervosa: a qualitative study.

OBJECTIVES: Research has identified how people with anorexia nervosa (AN) have problematic relationships with their own emotions, which can impact recovery. The aim of this study was to understand factors that were important in the care and emotional management of people with eating disorders on an inpatient unit. DESIGN: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants with AN. METHOD: Interview transcripts were analysed using a qualitative approach that was based upon interpretative phenomenological analysis, but also incorporated a theoretical component. RESULTS: From the qualitative analysis, two overarching and related themes were developed: 'difficulty with emotion' and 'predictability and care'. These were underpinned by a number of theoretical important constructs, such as 'staff factors', 'understanding of emotion', 'validity of emotion' and 'looking for ideal care'. CONCLUSION: Results suggested that the management strategies employed by some staff could serve to maintain eating disorders symptoms, whilst patient factors were also important as they had negative effect on staff's impact to care for this patient group.

A new parenting-based group intervention for young anxious children: results of a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Despite recent advances, there are still no interventions that have been developed for the specific treatment of young children who have anxiety disorders. This study examined the impact of a new, cognitive-behaviorally based parenting intervention on anxiety symptoms. METHOD: Families of 74 anxious children (aged 9 years or less) took part in a randomized controlled trial, which compared the new 10-session, group-format intervention with a wait-list control condition. Outcome measures included blinded diagnostic interview and self-reports from parents and children. RESULTS: Intention-to-treat analyses indicated that children whose parent(s) received the intervention were significantly less anxious at the end of the study than those in the control condition. Specifically, 57% of those receiving the new intervention were free of their primary disorder, compared with 15% in the control condition. Moreover, 32% of treated children were free of any anxiety diagnosis at the end of the treatment period, compared with 6% of those in the control group. Treatment gains were maintained at 12-month follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: This new parenting-based intervention may represent an advance in the treatment of this previously neglected group.