Critical incidents in anorexia nervosa: perspectives of those with a lived experience.

BACKGROUND: Although social-emotional difficulties are believed play a key role in anorexia nervosa (AN), there is uncertainty regarding what these difficulties might look like. Previous research has largely focused on a "disease model" of social-emotional processing in AN with little attention paid to positive emotions and experiences. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to obtain a fuller picture of critical life events as identified by those with lived AN experience. METHODS: Thirty-four participants aged 16-48 with current or past AN completed an online survey describing self-defined positive and difficult critical events. Thematic analysis was used to assess patterns in participants narrative responses. RESULTS: Two major themes were identified in the descriptions of positive critical events: Moments of celebration and Unexpected positive outcomes. These major themes revealed increased external focus and some corrective experiences that challenged the participants pre-existing expectations leading to new positive outcomes. Difficult events clustered into life events that were identified as Eating disorder (ED) related and Non-ED related and included the dimensions of relational conflict and feeling unsupported. DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that although negative emotionality was identified in the accounts of those with lived experience of AN capacity for "big-picture" thinking with and explicit focus on others was also identified. Moreover, an openness to corrective experiences that worked to challenge negative expectations was evident for some participants. Together these findings have scope as targets for further clinical research and treatment interventions.

Does CBT facilitate emotional processing?

BACKGROUND: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is not primarily conceptualized as operating via affective processes. However, there is growing recognition that emotional processing plays an important role during the course of therapy. AIMS: The Emotional Processing Scale was developed as a clinical and research tool to measure emotional processing deficits and the process of emotional change during therapy. METHOD: Fifty-five patients receiving CBT were given measures of emotional functioning (Toronto Alexithymia Scale [TAS-20]; Emotional Processing Scale [EPS-38]) and psychological symptoms (Brief Symptom Inventory [BSI]) pre- and post-therapy. In addition, the EPS-38 was administered to a sample of 173 healthy individuals. RESULTS: Initially, the patient group exhibited elevated emotional processing scores compared to the healthy group, but after therapy, these scores decreased and approached those of the healthy group. CONCLUSIONS: This suggests that therapy ostensibly designed to reduce psychiatric symptoms via cognitive processes may also facilitate emotional processing. The Emotional Processing Scale demonstrated sensitivity to changes in alexithymia and psychiatric symptom severity, and may provide a valid and reliable means of assessing change during therapy.