Abstract
Gregertsen, Mandy, and Serpell review the egosyntonic nature of anorexia nervosa: individuals can value the disorder, so it feels like part of the self. That congruence hinders motivation for recovery and engagement with treatment. The paper is a review of the impediment and of methods that try to meet it, not a trial.
Gregertsen, E. C., Mandy, W., & Serpell, L. (2017). Frontiers in Psychology, 8, Article 2273. DOI
Key findings
- Illness is valued. People with anorexia nervosa can value the disorder, so it is congruent with the self rather than an intruder.
- Recovery stalls. That congruence hinders motivation for recovery and engagement with treatment.
- Functions are named. The review covers psychological and social functions the illness serves, and links egosyntonicity with severity and motivation.
- Treatments differ. Enhanced CBT for eating disorders, the Maudsley model for adults, and specialist supportive clinical management are compared by how far they target egosyntonicity.
Limits
A 2017 narrative review of anorexia nervosa treatment. It is not a measure of identity in coaching, and it is not evidence that every miss outside an eating disorder is wanted. The transferable claim is the impediment: a pattern that feels like the self is harder to give up than a pattern that feels alien.
Application
- Ego-syntonic failure — congruence with the self-image, kept separate from a verdict that the miss was chosen.