Perspectives of professionals on the treatment and service delivery of eating disorders in cyprus

This paper investigates the perspectives of care professionals on the treament of eating disorders and the capacity of the existing settings in Cyprus, to treat eating disorders. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven professionals, working in settings for treating patients with eating disorders. The investigation identified two themes: The first theme concerns the necessity to fulfill the complex needs of patients with eating disorders, as well as the needs of their families. In addition, it concerns the importance of adopting a holistic and multimodal approach towards treating eating disorders, in order to achieve successful treatment outcomes. The attitudes and feelings of care professionals working with patients with eating disorders, were also identified. The second theme that emerged is an acknowledgement of the necessity for a stronger collaboration between the existing settings, for coordinated monitoring of these settings, and for upgrading specialized training. These two themes are interrelated and create barriers, which may prevent effective service delivery, affect the attitudes of professionals, and hinder the process of treatment. peerReviewed publishedVersion