Previous research has shown that Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is an effective treatment for Anorexia Nervosa. In the first Phase of FBT, parents are encouraged to take charge of the process of renourishing their child with Anorexia. Then, once the young person with Anorexia becomes better nourished and is managing to eat in a more sustainable way, the treatment moves to Phase 2. In Phase 2 of FBT, the focus is on helping parents to step back and support their child to regain their independence around eating. Once this happens, the treatment moves to Phase 3, where the family begins to move forward with their lives in a normal way, no longer focused on the eating disorder.~The investigators hope to learn whether an adaptation of FBT, called online Multi-Family Guided Self-Help FBT, is feasible and acceptable for families of young people with Anorexia.~The 'Self-Help' aspect of the treatment consists of a series of educational videos about how to help a child with Anorexia, which parents watch on an online platform. The 'Multifamily' and 'Guided' aspects of the treatment consists of weekly meetings by Zoom for a group of parents of young people with Anorexia, with a facilitator present to guide a group discussion around whether parents feel they understood the content of the videos and whether the content is helpful.
This is a study testing whether an online Multifamily Guided Self-Help Family Based Treatment (FBT) for Anorexia Nervosa in adolescents aged 12 to 17 is acceptable and useful to families. This online Multifamily Guided Self-Help version of FBT consists of 12 weekly 60-minute telemedicine groups made up of parents from 4-5 families of young people with AN, coupled with access to an online guided self-help platform over the course of 6 months. The feasibility of online Guided Self-Help Family-Based Treatment for Anorexia is unknown, and the investigators hope to identify an adequate treatment for those who do not have access to in-person FBT.