Predominant attitude towards help-seeking | Implications for help-seeking interventions |
---|---|
1. Symptom egosyntonicity | Focus on enhancing motivation to seek help (e.g. using motivational interviewing techniques) Support family / friends to raise concerns and encourage placatory help-seeking |
2. Gradual reappraisal | Focus on inter-relatedness of ED and other difficulties (e.g. low mood; physical health) Increase awareness amongst professionals likely to have routine contact during transitions of increased openness to receiving help Streamline registration/appointment-booking processes at likely help-seeking avenues (e.g. GP) Encourage family/ friends to scaffold help-seeking (e.g. booking appointments) |
3. Feelings of exclusion from eating disorder discourse | Focus on mapping negative effects of eating difficulties / clarifying preferred life directions, rather than slotting into diagnostic categories Integrate help-seeking interventions with self-help resources Communicate the importance of confidentiality Facilitate circumnavigation of face-to-face communication (e.g. emails; texts) at likely help-seeking avenues |