Guidelines for the family therapeutic approach to eating disorders

After a brief historical overview of the literature on family therapy in eating disorders, the authors' own clinical experience is summarized in some practical guidelines: give the family therapist a central position within the team, engage the family and/or spouse as co-therapist, explore the message of the eating disorder on different levels, neutralize the symptoms outside of the family interaction, promote direct communication, facilitate the separation-individuation process, and be available for a long time. Finally some special issues are discussed: sexual and/or physical abuse in the family, broken-home situations and single-parent families, married and chronic patients.