[Criteria for hospitalization of adolescents with anorexia nervosa according to postmodernistic approach]

The increased incidence of eating disorders in the Western world raises the demand for discussion regarding recommendations for hospitalization of adolescents with these disorders. The American Psychiatric Association has established criteria for hospitalization that include physiological, psychological and social components. The societal and professional discussion regarding adolescent hospitalization is frequently based on obvious assumptions and accepted discourses, such as the hierarchical pattern in the medical model, the control perception, knowledge ownership, freedom of choice, etc. These issues challenge the discussion on the hospitalization of adolescents with eating disorders. Eating disorders involve dimensions of control, boundaries, and psychological space, which are the essence of the difference between therapy in hospital or in the community. Personality and personal patterns, as well as associated psychopathology, family structure and other factors influence these dimensions and the ability of teenagers to be helped by the professional frameworks approached by them. This manuscript raises questions in relation to issues regarding hospitalization based on conflicts unique to eating disorders.