ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the case study of Anna. After ruling out a number of possibilities, it was a positive that the emergency room physician considered Anna’s presenting symptoms, for example sudden diarrhea and fainting, might be the result of an underlying eating disorder. Kelly and Justin (anna’s parents) also understood that Anna’s resistance to treatment was normal, given her condition. Once they realized Anna was well on her way to recovery and now deserved privacy and less oversight, they negotiated a system in which Anna put a sign on her bedroom door indicating she was okay and needed some time alone. Parents are confused when they are charged by a family-based treatment therapist to make critical decisions about how to move their child into recovery. The young person under the influence of the eating disorder is usually anxious, depressed, and angry at the prospect of recovery goals being achieved.
