Sharing and connecting with others – patient experiences of radically open dialectical behavior therapy for anorexia nervosa and overcontrol: a qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Recovery rates after psychological treatments for anorexia nervosa are low to moderate, and in adults, no treatment outperforms any other. The aim of this study was to evaluate patient experiences of Radically open dialectical behavior therapy (RO DBT), a treatment developed for disorders related to maladaptive overcontrol. METHODS: Eleven female patients with anorexia nervosa were interviewed after either treatment completion (eight patients) or drop-out (three patients) from RO DBT. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed with inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: The analysis yielded five main themes: 1) a comprehensive treatment, 2) the benefits of sharing and connecting with others, 3) growing trust, 4) moving toward valued goals – but some remain, and 5) doing well in treatment. CONCLUSION: Patients appreciated what they described as a comprehensive treatment and holistic view of their problems, which helped them reduce both maladaptive overcontrol and eating disorder symptoms. Gradually sharing personal experiences both in- and outside therapy was described as essential and led to enhanced social connectedness. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The intervention study (Isaksson M, et al. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry. 71, 2021) that preceded this interview study was performed by the first, second, third, and fifth author, preregistered in the ISRCTN registry (no: ISRCTN47156042). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40337-021-00382-z.