Premium
Relating therapeutic process to outcome: are there predictors for the short‐term course in anorexic patients?
Author(s) -
Zeeck Almut,
Hartmann Armin
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
european eating disorders review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.511
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1099-0968
pISSN - 1072-4133
DOI - 10.1002/erv.646
Subject(s) - anorexia nervosa , eating disorders , psychological intervention , psychology , outcome (game theory) , psychotherapist , clinical psychology , anorexia , interpersonal communication , intervention (counseling) , therapeutic relationship , psychiatry , medicine , social psychology , mathematics , mathematical economics
Objective The aim of the study was to explore if process aspects of the first 12 individual psychotherapy sessions of anorexic patients (6 weeks of treatment) are associated with a good or bad outcome at discharge. Method N = 38 patients with anorexia nervosa (DSM‐IV) were treated in a multimodal setting. Process measures were available from the perspectives of both patients and therapists for N = 344 sessions. Results 79% of the successful patients (discharge BMI > 17.5) and 68% of the failures could be correctly identified by process variables measured in the initial treatment phase. Patients' experience of negative emotions re therapy between sessions was associated with a bad outcome, whereas a frequent and intense process of ‘recreating the therapeutic dialogue’ was found to be associated with a good outcome. Early therapeutic interventions with a focus on symptoms and interpersonal relationships were related to a positive outcome, whereas a focus on self‐concept was related to a bad outcome. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and Eating Disorders Association.