Attitudes towards eating disorders clinicians with personal experience of an eating disorder

Abstract

Purpose: This study explores the perspectives and opinions towards ED clinicians with lived experience of ED.

Methods: Three hundred and eighty-five ED clinicians and 124 non-clinicians from 13 countries, between 18 and 76 years of age completed an online survey about attitudes towards ED clinicians with a personal ED history. Almost half the respondents (n = 242, 47.5%) reported a lifetime ED diagnosis. Survey items included ten multiple-choice and three open questions about clinician disclosure, employer hiring practices, and perceived advantages and disadvantages of clinicians with a personal ED history practicing in the ED field. Multiple-choice responses from clinicians with and without a personal ED history were compared with responses from non-clinicians with and without a personal ED history. Open questions were examined using thematic analysis.

Results: Clinicians with no ED history, whose responses often differed from both ED-history groups (clinicians and non-clinicians), were more likely to indicate that clinicians with an ED should not generally treat ED patients, and that clinicians should self-disclose their ED history to employers but not to their patients. Thematic analysis of the open-ended questions revealed that advantages of having clinicians with an ED history include a deep experiential understanding and the ability to be empathic and non-judgmental, whereas disadvantages include the lack of objectivity and the risk of clinicians being triggered.

Conclusion: Further research informing guidelines for ED clinicians with a personal ED history, their colleagues and employers are needed to protect and empower the significant minority of ED professionals with "lived experience" of EDs.

Level of evidence: Level III, case-control analytic study.

Keywords: Attitudes; Clinicians; Eating disorders; Lived experience; Non-clinicians; Personal history.