Delivering Eating Disorder Treatments to Autistic People
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Delivering Eating Disorder Treatments to Autistic People
IRAS ID
309245
Contact name
John Fox
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Cardiff University
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 30 days
Research summary
Eating disorders affect approximately 1.25 million people in the UK and result in the greatest loss of life than any other mental health condition (Beat, 2021; Priory, 2021). Approximately 20% of people with an eating disorder are autistic (Dattaro, 2020). Research suggests that autistic people develop eating disorders for different reasons than others – eating disorders may occur directly from autism or people may experience difficulties with eating as a way of coping with autistic challenges (Brede et al. 2020). Therefore, for autistic people, relationships with food and weight may not be best treated by standard interventions (Kinniard, 2019). This project will look at healthcare professionals' experience of delivering common psychological interventions, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT-E) and the Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa (MANTRA), to autistic people. The research will involve interviewing staff members who have worked in eating disorder services with autistic patients, to understand their experiences of delivering these treatments and any areas which could be adapted to improve the experience and outcomes for autistic people. We will identify themes from the interviews, and this will inform recommendations for use of CBT-E and MANTRA with the autistic population.
REC name
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REC reference
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