J Eat Disord. 2025 Oct 31;13(1):247. doi: 10.1186/s40337-025-01432-6.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Understanding the reasons for recovery or relapse in individuals with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is vital to improving post-treatment care. However, progress has been limited by a lack of consensus on defining recovery, with calls for including patient and clinician perspectives. This qualitative study explored how individuals with lived experience of AN and mental health professionals conceptualise recovery from AN, and the factors they perceived as contributing to or preventing recovery or relapse.
METHODS: We conducted three focus groups with people with lived experience of AN (n = 15 in total) and three focus groups and one individual interview with mental health professionals (n = 7). Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
RESULTS: We identified three themes. Theme 1 “Recovered, Yet Still Recovering” highlighted the ambiguity around what constitutes full recovery or whether it is possible and how people with lived experience and professionals’ views differed. Theme 2 “Disentangling Recovery and Weight Gain” highlighted different views between the groups on whether weight markers should be included in recovery definitions. Theme 3 “The Role of Others in Recovery: A Motivator or a Hinderance?” showed that people in one’s life can be the primary source of motivation to recover, but this is not sufficient for sustaining recovery and intrinsic motivators are needed.
DISCUSSION: Our study highlights that discrepancies between professional and lived experience definitions of recovery may be hindering therapeutic alliances, and that social support is crucial to promoting long term recovery. Additionally, we emphasise the importance of differentiating between cognitive, behavioural, and physical recovery in definitions.
PMID:41174713 | DOI:10.1186/s40337-025-01432-6
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