Content: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a highly distinctive disorder at the brain-body interface. Whilst therapeutically ‘malleable’ early on, once established it is remarkably persistent. It is also notoriously hard to treat. MANTRA or the ‘Maudsley Model of Anorexia Treatment in Adults’, is a novel and highly effective therapy tailored to the specific needs and characteristics of people with AN. Treatment targets are key maintaining factors, including [a] a thinking style characterised by rigidity, detail focus and fear of making mistakes, [b] an in-expressive, avoidant emotional and relational style, [c] positive beliefs about the utility of anorexia for the person, and [d] a response of close others characterised by high expressed emotion and enabling of and accommodation to the illness. In 2017, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended MANTRA as a first line treatment for adults with anorexia nervosa.
This two-day interactive, experiential, introductory workshop will teach participants key elements and techniques of MANTRA for different stages of treatment and how to sequence and integrate these in the treatment of adults with AN.
Learning Objectives:
Participants will learn:
(1) key strategies for the initial phase of treatment;
(2) to develop a collaborative MANTRA case conceptualization;
(3) how to work with core maintaining factors such as emotional avoidance and cognitive inflexibility in AN;
(4) how to involve close others in treatment.