Exploring the Challenges to Providing Residential Eating Disorder Treatment: A Supervisors’ Perspective
Bridget Nash
Abstract
Background: Eating disorder (ED) treatments have been widely studied, especially for effectiveness, but there are fewer studies that use qualitative methods to reveal what residential ED supervisors believe are the optimum modalities for treatment and implementation.
Methods: This study elicited eight clinical supervisors’ experiences working with residential ED patients. These supervisors were all in charge of the development of their respective programs and were also responsible for training direct care therapists.
Results: Study results reveal the challenges associated with treating EDs, including: the severity of the disorder, the paucity of knowledge, the need for more research on how to effectively treat this psychiatric disorder, and the difficulty of accessing treatment due to financial and cultural pressures.
Conclusion: This study highlights current practices and challenges in the field, such as the need for improved access to residential ED treatment for non-white and low-income individuals; the limitations of insurance policies; and the need for more non-white ED therapists working in residential treatment clinics. Since EDs such as anorexia nervosa can be amongst the most life-threatening mental health disorders, master of social work programs should be encouraged to implement specialized tracks for EDs. The goals of these specialized tracks would be to educate students on current ED research, including the research that shows the prevalence of EDs among male and non-white patients, to promote the ED field to minority students, and to develop incentives for internships in ED clinics for students of color.
Full Text: PDF DOI: 10.15640/jssw.v11n1a3
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