‘It takes a village’: patient lived experiences of residential treatment for an eating disorder
Background Residential treatment facilities for eating disorders are becoming increasingly common and purport to provide recovery-orientated care in a less restrictive environment than traditional hospital settings. However, minimal attention has focused on individuals’ lived experiences of these...
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Cambridge University Press
2025-03-01
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| Series: | BJPsych Open |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472424008494/type/journal_article |
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| author | Rebekah Rankin Janet Conti Lucie Ramjan Phillipa Hay |
| author_facet | Rebekah Rankin Janet Conti Lucie Ramjan Phillipa Hay |
| author_sort | Rebekah Rankin |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Background
Residential treatment facilities for eating disorders are becoming increasingly common and purport to provide recovery-orientated care in a less restrictive environment than traditional hospital settings. However, minimal attention has focused on individuals’ lived experiences of these residential services.
Aims
This study explores participants’ lived experiences of care at Australia’s first residential facility for the treatment of eating disorders.
Method
Qualitative data were collected as part of a clinical evaluation (June 2021 to August 2023). Fifteen women participated in semi-structured interviews about their experience of treatment following discharge. Data were analysed with inductive reflexive thematic analysis.
Results
Three main themes were generated from the data that included participants’ journeys to treatment, experiences of treatment and the transitions associated with and following discharge. Cutting across these main themes were participants’ encounters of barriers, setbacks and hope. Participant experiences of residential treatment were complex and multifaceted, marked by inherent ideological dilemmas that arose in balancing standardised treatment protocols with person-centred and recovery-oriented care. Participants also spoke of reclaiming a sense of self and identity beyond their eating disorder, emphasising the importance of relationships and consistent and collaborative care.
Conclusions
Participant accounts of residential treatment emphasised the importance of holistic, person-centred and recovery-oriented care. Despite the complexities of treatment experiences, participant narratives underscored how recovery may be more about the reclamation of a sense of identity outside of the eating disorder than merely symptom improvement. As such, adopting person-centred and recovery-oriented treatment approaches within residential treatment settings may maximise individual autonomy and promote holistic recovery pathways.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bdff91ab344e420087c735b1301034d4 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2056-4724 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BJPsych Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-bdff91ab344e420087c735b1301034d42025-02-11T14:22:58ZengCambridge University PressBJPsych Open2056-47242025-03-011110.1192/bjo.2024.849‘It takes a village’: patient lived experiences of residential treatment for an eating disorderRebekah Rankin0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5319-780XJanet Conti1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5064-8003Lucie Ramjan2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7815-3005Phillipa Hay3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0296-6856Translational Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, AustraliaTranslational Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia School of Psychology, Western Sydney University, Sydney, AustraliaTranslational Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University, Sydney, AustraliaTranslational Health Research Institute, School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia Mental Health Services, Campbelltown Hospital, South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD), Sydney, Australia Background Residential treatment facilities for eating disorders are becoming increasingly common and purport to provide recovery-orientated care in a less restrictive environment than traditional hospital settings. However, minimal attention has focused on individuals’ lived experiences of these residential services. Aims This study explores participants’ lived experiences of care at Australia’s first residential facility for the treatment of eating disorders. Method Qualitative data were collected as part of a clinical evaluation (June 2021 to August 2023). Fifteen women participated in semi-structured interviews about their experience of treatment following discharge. Data were analysed with inductive reflexive thematic analysis. Results Three main themes were generated from the data that included participants’ journeys to treatment, experiences of treatment and the transitions associated with and following discharge. Cutting across these main themes were participants’ encounters of barriers, setbacks and hope. Participant experiences of residential treatment were complex and multifaceted, marked by inherent ideological dilemmas that arose in balancing standardised treatment protocols with person-centred and recovery-oriented care. Participants also spoke of reclaiming a sense of self and identity beyond their eating disorder, emphasising the importance of relationships and consistent and collaborative care. Conclusions Participant accounts of residential treatment emphasised the importance of holistic, person-centred and recovery-oriented care. Despite the complexities of treatment experiences, participant narratives underscored how recovery may be more about the reclamation of a sense of identity outside of the eating disorder than merely symptom improvement. As such, adopting person-centred and recovery-oriented treatment approaches within residential treatment settings may maximise individual autonomy and promote holistic recovery pathways. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472424008494/type/journal_articleAnorexia nervosafeeding or eating disorderslived experiencequalitative researchresidential treatment |
| spellingShingle | Rebekah Rankin Janet Conti Lucie Ramjan Phillipa Hay ‘It takes a village’: patient lived experiences of residential treatment for an eating disorder BJPsych Open Anorexia nervosa feeding or eating disorders lived experience qualitative research residential treatment |
| title | ‘It takes a village’: patient lived experiences of residential treatment for an eating disorder |
| title_full | ‘It takes a village’: patient lived experiences of residential treatment for an eating disorder |
| title_fullStr | ‘It takes a village’: patient lived experiences of residential treatment for an eating disorder |
| title_full_unstemmed | ‘It takes a village’: patient lived experiences of residential treatment for an eating disorder |
| title_short | ‘It takes a village’: patient lived experiences of residential treatment for an eating disorder |
| title_sort | it takes a village patient lived experiences of residential treatment for an eating disorder |
| topic | Anorexia nervosa feeding or eating disorders lived experience qualitative research residential treatment |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472424008494/type/journal_article |
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