Clinicians' perspectives on family-based therapy (FBT) and psychiatric medication for eating disorders.

This study examined clinicians' perspectives of family-based therapy (FBT) and psychiatric medication, and whether they would recommend these for treating their own child or another family member if they had an eating disorder (ED). Participants were 80 clinicians (45 women, 35 men; Mage = 31.7 years) who completed an e-survey that included questions about their profession, whether they use FBT, training, and length of time providing it. Participants also reported their main theoretical orientation, whether they recommend FBT to their patients, and if they would recommend it to their own child or another family member. Approximately 42.5 % were physicians or psychiatrists, 30.1 % nurses or nurse practitioners, and 27.6 % therapists (e.g., psychologist, social worker etc.). The average amount of time they had been providing treatment for EDs was 4.38 years (SD = 1.09). Treatment settings included hospitals (45 %), community mental health (31.3 %), private practice (15 %), and residential treatment (8.8 %). Most participants were FBT trained (98.8 %) by in person workshop with supervision (46.8 %), in person workshop only (31.6 %), or other (21.6 %; online training, self-paced reading). Engagement in consultation or supervision for FBT was reported by 83.8 % of clinicians. All providers endorsed recommending FBT to their patients or another family member if they had an ED, whereas 88.8 % would recommend it for their own child. A considerable proportion of clinicians (96.3 %) would agree to start their own family member on psychiatric medication if they had an ED. These results have important implications for training and dissemination of the FBT.