Background: This study examined the experiences of young people and their parents who attended an intensive day treatment programme for eating disorders online during the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: Online questionnaires were completed by 14 adolescents (12-18 years) and their parents (n = 19). The questionnaires included a mixture of rating questions (Likert scale) and free text responses. Free text responses were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Results: Three main themes were identified: 1) New discoveries, 2) Lost in translation and 3) The best of a bad situation. This study provides insight into the benefits and pitfalls of online treatment delivery in the adolescent day programme context, which has rapidly had to become part of the everyday therapeutic practice. Results indicate that there are advantages and disadvantages to this, and that parents and young people's views differed.
Conclusions: This study suggests that the increased accessibility provided by online working does not necessarily translate to increased connection. Given the importance of therapeutic alliance in treatment outcomes, this will be an important consideration for future developments of online intensive treatments.
Keywords: Adolescents; Anorexia nervosa; Covid-19 pandemic; Day programme; Online therapy; Partial hospitalisation program (PHP).
This study examined the experiences of young people and their parents who attended an intensive day treatment programme for anorexia online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Online questionnaires were completed by 14 patients aged 12–18 years and 19 of their parents. The questionnaires included a mixture of rating questions (for example: How would you rate your experience with online therapy from 1 to 10?) and free text responses. The authors explored the free text responses and identified three common themes. These were 1) New discoveries- for the parents and young people, online therapy was a new experience, 2) Lost in translation- working online meant some aspects of communication were lost, 3) The best of a bad situation- online therapy was better than no therapy at all. This study provides insight into the benefits and pitfalls of online therapy in a day programme setting. Specifically, this study suggests that the increased accessibility provided by online working, does not necessarily translate to increased connection. Given the importance of building a positive and trusting relationship between the young person, their family and their therapist, this will be an important consideration when thinking about future development of online treatment programmes.