In addition to Cognitive Behaviorial Therapy, Family Based Therapy has also proved to be an effective treatment for Anorexia Nervosa. In one study published by the International Journal of Eating Disorders, they measured the key components of treatment for Family Based Therapy. In their findings they found that higher parental control, greater unity by parents, lower judgment, and greater manifestation of Anorexia Nervosa were related to weight gain through treatment outcome.
Parental Control was found to be the most significant cause of Anorexia Nervosa because parents believe that they should take control of their child’s recovery. In fact, higher parental control significantly forecasted fewer dropouts. However, this is one of the key features of Family Based Therapy as suffers become infatuated with a feeling of complete control to the point where eliminating this sensation from patients may be a vital part of this treatment. In addition to Parental Control, sibiling support was the only component of FBT that did not directly result in weight gain. However, increased parental control was significantly related to higher levels of support through siblings. The results of this study state that siblings should not be removed from therapy because they create a sense of empowerment for the patient but need to be on reservation. Single child families were instructed to rely on school, family friends or relatives, in order to create the sense sibling support was present.
Therapeutic Alliance was also found to have a significant impact on weight gain. Mother-therapist alliances were found to notably increase weight gain and decrease the dropout rate, whereas father-therapist alliances had a negative effect resulting in a decreased weight gain. Although this does not directly correspond to the findings that parental unity has a crucial relationship to weight gain, researchers found that fathers may have felt pressured to take on the traditional mother role which resulted in a negative relationship. The results of two separate studies demonstrated that a rather high percentage of female adolescents have a greater risk of developing Anorexia Nervosa. Research participants were enrolled in a program which provided interventions for high-risk adolescents. The programs focus was to show participants on how the continuation of under eating and over exercising behaviors can lead to Anorexia Nervosa. Both parents were also invited to participant but all most all families chose to have one parent or guardian represent themselves in the study. This intervention represents the importance of parental unity in which both parents work together to address the eating disorder.
The results of the study were concluded that the parents whose daughter has noticeable signs of an eating disorder were more interested and willing to participate in the interventions than those who did not show any signs. Also, interestingly parents used the program more frequently if they felt their daughters were of higher-risk of developing Anorexia. Many of the parents whose daughters showed high risk were interested in using the Family Based Therapy approach but were unable to find certified therapist in their region. Instead, they turned to the internet to deliver the intervention and intervene in their child’s eating disorder. Also, parents who sought out other parents whose child was going through Anorexia Nervosa benefited from the interaction.
Researchers described their study as a way to get parents involved in their child’s behaviors and change their eating habits. Parents were typically surprised to hear their child has an emerging eating disorder because they feel they are progressing well. They attempted to help parents acknowledge the Family Based Therapy treatment for Anorexia Nervosa by raising parental anxiety and encouraging them to take control before it becomes serious. The results of this study stated it is important to alert parents of the onset of an eating disorder so they are able to intervene while the child is still at a normal weight range in order to prevent rapid weight loss into Anorexia Nervosa.