Family-based inpatient treatment for adolescent anorexia nervosa: a thematic analysis of former patients' post-treatment reflections.

This study investigated former patients' experiences with family-based inpatient treatment. Interviews of thirty-seven patients diagnosed with anorexia nervosa during the admissions were conducted to examine their post-treatment perspectives. The accounts were analyzed by utilizing an inductive thematic analytic approach. The analysis yielded 4 main themes, constituted by in all 8 subthemes. The main themes were; 1) Enabling new ways of understanding and relating, 2) Enhancing or maintaining negative power dynamics, 3) Vulnerable transitions, and 4) Sibling relationships and different ways of involvement. With its "insider focus," this study contributes to knowledge on how family-based inpatient treatment is perceived from a user perspective. The current study has value for both advancing the development of family-based inpatient treatment, and by adding patient perspectives to the ongoing effort of providing family-based approaches at higher levels of care.