ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 introduces the reader to Reconnecting for Recovery (R4R), a new innovative Multifamily Therapy Group (MFTG) approach for young adults with anorexia nervosa (AN). Informed by a relational reframing of eating disorders as Diseases of Disconnection, R4R helps young adults with AN reconnect with themselves (i.e., their authentic feelings, thoughts, and needs) and others. The chapter orients the reader to how intrapersonal (biological and psychological) and interpersonal (affective and behavioral) processes of disconnection characterizing AN interplay and contribute to the interpersonal disconnections experienced by young adults with AN and their family members. AN is externalized and viewed as the force that creates and maintains these disconnections, thus perpetuating the illness and obstructing recovery. R4R is described as a treatment that predominantly focuses on building emotional and relational skills required to identify disconnections characterizing AN and foster a sense of perceived mutuality (i.e., mutual empathy, empowerment, and trust) in relationships. The chapter emphasizes how R4R MFTG promotes mutual connections, becoming a therapeutic village leveraging the combined strengths, resources, and coping strategies of a number of patients and families. Chapter 1 ends with an orientation to the treatment manual and a brief overview of AN, including epidemiology, mortality, risk factors, theories of etiology and maintenance, comorbidity, and evidence-based treatments for young adults with AN.
