Admission and goodbye letters from adolescents with anorexia nervosa in a day hospital.

Background: Care providers working with adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) encounter difficulties inherent in the illness (denial, ambivalence) and those related to the fact that it is most often the parents who bring adolescents to care units. Our aim was to study attitudes towards care among adolescents with AN treated in a specialised day hospital using an analysis of letters written before and after treatment.

Methods: Adolescents (12-20 years old) treated for AN in a specialised day hospital, providing multidisciplinary care while enabling a return to schooling inside the facility were included.