Collaboration in team outpatient eating disorder care: clinician’s perspectives

Clinical practice guidelines recommend team outpatient eating disorder treatment, yet the organisation and delivery of team care vary considerably in practice. This qualitative study explored clinicians’ attitudes toward and experiences of team outpatient eating disorder treatment, including multidisciplinary and interprofessional care. Nineteen Australian clinicians (dietitians, mental health professionals, and general practitioners) with at least two years’ experience working in outpatient eating disorder teams participated in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s reflexive thematic analysis. Three themes and three sub-themes were identified. Theme 1, Preference for Interprofessional Ways of Working, captured clinicians’ preference for highly integrated and collaborative approaches, including perceived benefits for team functioning, clinician wellbeing, and client care; the related sub-theme Dismantle Systemic Hierarchies to Foster Trust, Respect, and Collaboration highlighted structural barriers to collaboration. Theme 2, Interprofessional Education (IPE) as the Foundation for Collaborative Practice, emphasised IPE as a key enabler of collaborative capacity; while its sub-theme IPE Develops Shared Philosophies and Values described the role of IPE in developing shared conceptual and philosophical foundations for collaborative care. Theme 3, Communication as the Strategy for Sustaining Collaborative Practice, underscored communication as central to day-to-day coordination; its sub-theme Leverage Role Overlap Through Effective Communication illustrated how communication supported role integration. Overall, clinicians described highly collaborative team care as desirable, and shaped by education, communication infrastructure, and systemic constraints. Future research should examine approaches to strengthen interprofessional education, improve communication systems and structures, and support collaboration within existing treatment models and service contexts. Team outpatient care is widely recommended for eating disorder treatment, yet the way teams work together varies considerably in practice. This study explored clinicians’ experiences of team outpatient eating disorder treatment in Australia. Clinicians described a preference for highly coordinated and collaborative ways of working, characterised by shared decision-making, clearer role delineation, and consistent clinical messaging across team members. Participants identified perceived benefits for clinicians, including increased professional support and reduced isolation, as well as benefits for clients, such as improved continuity of care and a stronger sense of therapeutic containment. Clinicians identified several factors that may support the sustainability of collaborative team care. These included interprofessional education that promotes shared knowledge and aligned treatment philosophies, alongside communication structures that enable timely coordination. Examples included regular team meetings, shared clinical documentation systems, and informal communication used alongside required professional documentation. Participants also described barriers to collaboration, including professional hierarchies, limited time and remuneration for collaborative activities, and the absence of secure, integrated communication systems. Overall, the findings suggest that strengthening educational and communication infrastructure, and addressing structural barriers, may support more integrated team outpatient care in eating disorder treatment.