Recent Advances and Future Directions in Eating Disorder Treatments for Emerging Adults

There is increasing interest and exploration in tailoring eating disorder (ED) treatment for emerging adults/transition-age youth. This review provides a narrative update on research findings from 2021 to 2025.

There has been continued development of ED-focused family therapy approaches for emerging adults, and we have also started to see the tailoring of existing individual treatments (e.g., Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment) for this age group. A notable development is the implementation and evaluation of treatments or service pathways aiming to deliver timely and accessible intervention to emerging adults: the First Episode Rapid Early Intervention for ED (FREED) service model and care pathway continues its scale and spread, and shorter forms of treatment, such as CBT-Ten, have been successfully delivered via both FREED and general mental health early intervention pathways. There has been a marked increase in ED treatment innovation and evaluation for emerging adults over the last few years. As of yet, it remains unclear if there is a single 'best' treatment approach for this age group. Anecdotally, there appears to be a shift away from exclusively family or individual oriented treatments. Future research should advance inclusive, developmentally aligned treatments for emerging adults by addressing peer support, youth engagement, and gaps in care models. Interventions must be adaptable across formats and populations while integrating seamlessly within existing systems through personalized, context-responsive strategies.