A substantive and methodological review of family-based treatment for eating disorders: the last 25 years of research

This article provides a substantive and methodological review of all research studies published in the last 25 years that have evaluated a family-based intervention as a central component in the treatment of eating disorders (specifically anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa). While in the past 25 years there has been an increase in research exploring the efficacy of family therapy in the treatment of eating disorders, there has not been a comprehensive review of all these studies. Rather, reports of studies of family therapy and eating disorders are scattered in a wide range of journals and disciplines. Here we summarize the findings, provide a critique of the methodologies used, discuss methodological challenges and suggest next steps for research and clinical practice.