A brief emotion focused intervention for inpatients with anorexia nervosa: A qualitative study

Cognitive Remediation and Emotion Skills Training (CREST), a brief social cognition intervention, was developed for inpatients with Anorexia Nervosa (AN). CREST was piloted and evaluated in 28 Anorexia Nervosa patients on a specialist eating disorder inpatient unit. Content analysis was employed to qualitatively explore patients' experience of the intervention. Results suggest that patients perceived CREST positively. Main themes identified were that patients' valued education regarding the function of emotions and found learning strategies to manage and express emotions helpful. The clinical and research implications are discussed.