Living as a couple with anorexia nervosa: A dyadic interpretative phenomenological analysis

Abstract

This study examined the difficulties couples face in relation to anorexia nervosa. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, five couples in which one of the partners lives with anorexia nervosa were interviewed separately. The findings are conceptualized into three areas: first, the encounter ‘at the crossroads between remission and relapse’; second, the way that ‘anorexia reveals itself’; and finally, the way the ‘ménage à trois’ works, including the illness fully as part of the couple. Psychotherapists should take into account the context of the couple and the complex interaction between the couple and the illness to support both partners’ development of appropriate responses.