I’ve said it before and no doubt I will have to say it again at some point: we’re not very good at treating anorexia nervosa. We don’t have many evidence-based treatments, and those we have are not great in terms of outcome and rates of drop out. Yet anorexia nervosa is a horrible illness to live with, exhausting for those suffering from it and those caring for them; we should be doing better than we are at treating it.

But there is hope. It has been recognised that things need to change, and that new, theory-based treatments should be developed, and here is one: “MANTRA – Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults” being rigorously tested against a manualised treatment as usual, “SSCM – Specialist Supportive Clinical Management”.