The role of social and family support in the management of eating disorders

This paper aims to consider the role of informal social support in contributing to the welfare of people with eating disorders (EDs). Anorexia nervosa usually emerges between the ages of 16 and 17 years for females and at 12 years for males, followed by other common forms of EDs, such as bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder. Families can play a key role in the outcome of an ED by recognising the problem and accessing early support. Unfortunately, the provision of services does not match the current need. Carers have been involved in co-designing and co-delivering information and support that can fill some service gaps. This involves learning how to manage the traps that are easily triggered and lead to unhelpful interactions driven by expressed emotion, such as overprotection, accommodating the ED behaviours by ignoring and/or using hostile confrontation and criticism. Families provide a great amount of practical support and are important partners during treatment. They can prevent the individual from becoming isolated and trapped within the ED identity.