Therapists' experiences of cognitive remediation therapy for anorexia nervosa: implications for working with adolescents

Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT) is a novel intervention developed for adults with anorexia nervosa (AN), which aims to improve "cognitive flexibility" and "holistic processing" thinking styles (Tchanturia et al., 2008; Tchanturia & Hambrook, 2009). The present study uses a qualitative approach to examine therapists' accounts of their work with inpatients suffering with AN. The objective of this study is to gain a broader understanding of how CRT has been implemented and utilized in daily life by this patient group. Therapists' letters were positive and motivational; acknowledging patients for their achievements while outlining some of the difficulties and emotions that patients experienced. Findings highlight that the majority of patients' difficulties related to their metacognitive ability and in transferring the skills to real life. Themes also concerned the processes and stages of CRT, where patients gradually drew skills from the intervention prior to making changes in their own lives. The implications of this approach for working with adolescents with eating disorders are explored. It is hoped that this study will help understanding of how CRT can be used as a treatment for AN; and how it could be developed for future work with young people.