In Ireland, traditionally, most public Adult Mental Health Services (AMHSs) had a small cohort of service users with eating disorders (EDs) in their service. However, over the last 5 years, the National Clinical Programmes have been encouraging Mental Health Services to develop ED programmes in each catchment area. This has culminated in a model of care for EDs for children and adults. It appears that in relation to AMHSs, meaningful inclusion of families/significant other(s) in ED programmes is somewhat inconsistent. This paper will discuss the possible impact of excluding or minimising family/significant other(s)’ inclusion. It will also outline a suggested approach of including families/significant other(s) in a meaningful way in an out-patient ED programme.
