Anorexia NervosaQUALI-TMF-TCANCT06091306
Qualitative Evaluation of Change Processes in Multifamily Therapy for Adolescents With Anorexia Nervosa
An observational study of Anorexia Nervosa, run by Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris at 1 site in France.
Trial summary
Anorexia nervosa is a characterised disorder which forms part of the wider spectrum of eating disorders. It is a common pathology, particularly in adolescence, with a complex, severe prognosis in both somatic and psychiatric terms, and significant psychosocial consequences, particularly for family relationships. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 6 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Anorexia Nervosa
- What is being tested?
- Psychotherapy
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- How many people
- 138 participants
- Where
- 1 siteFrance
- Study dates
- 1 Dec 2023to May 2027
- Phase
- Observational
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 6 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Study population: The study is therefore being offered to all families who have taken part in multifamily therapy for anorexia nervosa, i.e. the adolescent patients being treated for anorexia nervosa, their parents and siblings. These patients and their families come from the clinical population followed in our institution for anorexia nervosa: the Maison des Adolescents of the Cochin Hospital - Maison de Solenn (APHP, Paris). Participation in a multi-family group is complementary to the usual care provided in the department (psychiatric, pediatric and dietetic follow-up) and does not replace the usual individual care.
Who may be able to join
- Families who have taken part in a multifamily group on anorexia nervosa, i.e. :
- Parents (or any adult identified as a referent by the teenager), teenagers and siblings (over 6 years old) who have taken part in multi-family therapy (people from the teenager's family who have not taken part in the group will not be included),
- Adolescents aged 12 to 20,
- Adolescents with anorexia nervosa according to DSM5 criteria,
- Adolescents treated at the Maison des Adolescents at Cochin Hospital,
- Non-opposition of adolescents, their parents and siblings.
- It will be possible to include in the study a parent or sibling whose adolescent did not wish to take part in the research but who participated in the MFT group.
Who cannot join
- Contraindication to multifamily therapy (i.e. any family situation that makes it impossible to bring parents and children together in family therapy without changing the setting (parents stripped of parental authority, educational removal measure, mediated visits, etc.),
- Any patient whose main diagnosis is not anorexia nervosa according to DSM5 criteria.
- Patients with an autistic spectrum disorder, a chronic psychotic disorder or an intellectual disability as their primary or secondary diagnosis according to DSM 5.
- Participants under curatorship or guardianship
- Participants not covered by a Social Security scheme.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
France1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
University Hospital Cochin, Maison des Adolescents - Youth Department (Maison de Solenn)
Paris, Île-de-France Region, 75014
Salomé Grandclerc, MD, 0033158412426, salome.grandclerc@aphp.fr
Eloïse Hellier, 0033158412426, eloise.hellier@aphp.fr
About this study
Official title: Therapeutic Process at Work in Multiple Family Therapy Groups for Anorexia Nervosa During Adolescence. An Exploratory Study.
Anorexia nervosa is a characterised disorder which forms part of the wider spectrum of eating disorders. It is a common pathology, particularly in adolescence, with a complex, severe prognosis in both somatic and psychiatric terms, and significant psychosocial consequences, particularly for family relationships.
The treatment of anorexia requires a multidisciplinary team of specialists who can offer individual and family-based approaches. International recommendations highlight the encouraging results of family therapy in the treatment of anorexia nervosa in adolescence. Various types of family approach exist, including "Family Based Treatments", which are a specific but highly effective approach, particularly widespread in the United States. Multifamily therapy (MFT), which involves bringing several families together to address the problem of anorexia, has proved effective for several years now.
Read more
Since January 2019, multifamily therapy has been offered to adolescents aged 12 to 18 who are being followed at the Maison de Solenn-Maison des Adolescents at Cochin hospital, for anorexia nervosa, as well as their families.
Each group brings together 5 to 7 families and comprises 10 3-hour sessions, with 3 weeks between each session. 2 groups are offered per year. Multi-family therapy therefore involves 10 to 14 families per year. It complements the other approaches available in the department.
To be able to describe the therapeutic processes at work in multifamily groups in order to be able to better describe our therapeutic device and envisage possible modifications. These processes would be broken down into four areas: MFT and its effects on the anorexic symptom, MFT and its effects on the family, MFT as group therapy and ways of improving the MFT system.
Read the detailed description
Anorexia nervosa is a characterised disorder which forms part of the wider spectrum of eating disorders. It is a common pathology, particularly in adolescence, with a complex, severe prognosis in both somatic and psychiatric terms, and significant psychosocial consequences, particularly for family relationships.
The treatment of anorexia requires a multidisciplinary team of specialists who can offer individual and family-based approaches. International recommendations highlight the encouraging results of family therapy in the treatment of anorexia nervosa. Various types of family approach exist, including "Family Based Treatments", which are a specific but highly effective approach, particularly widespread in the United States. Multifamily therapy (MFT), which involves bringing several families together to address the problem of anorexia, has proved effective for several years now.
Since January 2019, multifamily therapy has been offered to adolescents aged 12 to 18 who are being followed at the Maison de Solenn-Maison des Adolescents at Cochin Hospital for anorexia nervosa, as well as their families.
Each group brings together 5 to 7 families and comprises 10 3-hour sessions, with 3 weeks between each session. 2 groups are offered per year. Multi-family therapy therefore involves 10 to 14 families per year. It complements the other approaches available in the department.
Primary objective:
To be able to describe the therapeutic processes at work in these multifamily groups in order to be able to better describe our therapeutic device and envisage possible modifications. These processes would be broken down into four areas: MFT and its effects on the anorexic symptom, MFT and its effects on the family, MFT as a group therapy and ways of improving the MFT system.
Secondary objectives:
- MFT and its effect on the symptom: to better describe and analyse the processes at work in multifamily therapy that lead to symptomatic improvement in adolescents through the perception of the adolescent himself, his parents or his brothers and sisters.
- MFT and its effects on the family: to describe in detail the psychotherapeutic processes within the MFT system that are involved in changing family relationships.
- MFT and its effects as group therapy: The context of group therapy is often a powerful lever/motivator of change and the investigators are seeking to better describe and understand the mechanisms at play in the group and how this influences the family and the anorexic symptom.
- Areas for improvement in MFT: Our study also aims to determine, in the context of a multifamily group for anorexia nervosa, the therapeutic contexts (single-family, intragenerational, multigenerational) and therapeutic mediations most conducive to change, in order to improve our practice and therapeutic proposals.
The study is therefore being proposed to all the families who have taken part in the multifamily therapy for anorexia nervosa, i.e. the adolescents being followed, their parents and siblings.
The investigators propose to use a qualitative methodology aimed at collecting the experiences of patients suffering from anorexia nervosa, their parents and their siblings, using alternately, depending on the group, data collection by focus group or by individual semi-structured interview according to a semi-structured interview guide specifically designed by the research team. The data was collected 4 to 6 months after the tenth and final session of the multifamily group.
The theoretical framework is qualitative and no statistical comparison is expected.
The investigators chose to use Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to study the meaning that the subject constructs from lived experiences. IPA is a recognised method of content analysis, particularly in health psychology.
Approximately 3 months after the end of a multifamily group on anorexia nervosa, the investigators will contact the families by telephone or e-mail to invite the families to take part in research interviews which will take place 4 to 6 months after the tenth and last session of the multifamily group in which the family took part.
The investigators will arrange to meet the families in the department on the same day to carry out an information interview, collect non-oppositions, interviews to collect socio-demographic data and then individual semi-structured interviews or focus groups (depending on staff availability).
The qualitative analysis of our research concerns the thematic analysis of the participants' discourse (adolescent patients, parents and siblings of these adolescents), so the main evaluation criterion concerns the extraction of sufficiently rich material from the discourse to carry out this analysis.
- Conditions
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Being tested
- Psychotherapy
- Keywords
- Anorexia nervosa, Adolescence, Familial relationships, Multiple family therapy groups, Group therapy, Therapeutic process, Qualitative study
- Medical subject headings
- Anorexia Nervosa
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
PsychotherapyBehavioural
Also called Multifamily Therapy for anorexia nervosa during adolescence
Multifamily therapy (MFT), which involves bringing several families together to address the problem of anorexia nervosa, has proved effective for several years now.
Since January 2019, multifamily therapy has been offered to adolescents aged 12 to 18 who are being treated for anorexia nervosa at the Maison de Solenn-Maison des Adolescents at Cochin Hospital, and to their families.
Each group brings together 5 to 7 families and comprises 10 3-hour sessions, with 3 weeks between each session. 2 groups are offered per year. Multifamily therapy therefore involves 10 to 14 families per year. It complements the other approaches available in the department.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Participants in a multifamily therapy group for adolescents, their parents and siblings | The study is therefore being proposed to all the families who have taken part in the multifamily therapy for anorexia nervosa, i.e. the adolescents being followed, their parents and siblings.
The investigators propose to use a qualitative methodology aimed at collecting the experiences of patients suffering from anorexia nervosa, their parents and their siblings, using alternately, depending on the group, data collection by focus group or by individual semi-structured interview according to a semi-structured interview guide specifically designed by the research team. The data was collected 4 to 6 months after the tenth and final session of the multi-family group. Receives: Behavioral: Psychotherapy |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Semi-structured qualitative interviews
Semi-structured individual or group (focus group) interviews following a pre-designed interview guide.
The qualitative analysis of our research concerns the thematic analysis of the participants' discourse (adolescent patients, parents and siblings of these adolescents), so the main evaluation criterion concerns the extraction of sufficiently rich material from the discourse to carry out this analysis.
Measured: Day of inclusion
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted19 Oct 2023
- Study start1 Dec 2023
- Primary completionDec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completionMay 2027 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Anorexia NervosaStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de ParisThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Case only
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Enrolment
- 138 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- URC-CIC Paris Descartes Necker Cochin
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Marie-Rose MORO, MD, PhD, Study director, University Hospital Cochin, Maison des Adolescents - Youth Department, F-75014 Paris, FranceSalomé Grandclerc, MD, Principal investigator, University Hospital Cochin, Maison des Adolescents - Youth Department, F-75014 Paris, France
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06091306
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- APHP230662
- Other IDs
- 2023-A00668-37
- Acronym
- QUALI-TMF-TCA
- Status last verified
- Sep 2025
- First submitted
- 13 Oct 2023
- Last updated
- 12 Sep 2025
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 12 Sep 2025. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Therapeutic Process at Work in Multiple Family Therapy Groups for Anorexia Nervosa During Adolescence. An Exploratory Study.
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06091306
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- QUALI-TMF-TCA / APHP230662
- Conditions
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Keywords
- Anorexia nervosa, Adolescence, Familial relationships, Multiple family therapy groups, Group therapy, Therapeutic process, Qualitative study
- Study type
- Observational
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 138 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de ParisUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- URC-CIC Paris Descartes Necker Cochin
- Study start
- 1 Dec 2023 (actual)
- Primary completion
- Dec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- May 2027 (estimated)
- First posted
- 19 Oct 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Anorexia nervosa is a characterised disorder which forms part of the wider spectrum of eating disorders. It is a common pathology, particularly in adolescence, with a complex, severe prognosis in both somatic and psychiatric terms, and significant psychosocial consequences, particularly for family relationships.
The treatment of anorexia requires a multidisciplinary team of specialists who can offer individual and family-based approaches. International recommendations highlight the encouraging results of family therapy in the treatment of anorexia nervosa in adolescence. Various types of family approach exist, including "Family Based Treatments", which are a specific but highly effective approach, particularly widespread in the United States. Multifamily therapy (MFT), which involves bringing several families together to address the problem of anorexia, has proved effective for several years now.
Since January 2019, multifamily therapy has been offered to adolescents aged 12 to 18 who are being followed at the Maison de Solenn-Maison des Adolescents at Cochin hospital, for anorexia nervosa, as well as their families.
Each group brings together 5 to 7 families and comprises 10 3-hour sessions, with 3 weeks between each session. 2 groups are offered per year. Multi-family therapy therefore involves 10 to 14 families per year. It complements the other approaches available in the department.
To be able to describe the therapeutic processes at work in multifamily groups in order to be able to better describe our therapeutic device and envisage possible modifications. These processes would be broken down into four areas: MFT and its effects on the anorexic symptom, MFT and its effects on the family, MFT as group therapy and ways of improving the MFT system.
Detailed description
Anorexia nervosa is a characterised disorder which forms part of the wider spectrum of eating disorders. It is a common pathology, particularly in adolescence, with a complex, severe prognosis in both somatic and psychiatric terms, and significant psychosocial consequences, particularly for family relationships.
The treatment of anorexia requires a multidisciplinary team of specialists who can offer individual and family-based approaches. International recommendations highlight the encouraging results of family therapy in the treatment of anorexia nervosa. Various types of family approach exist, including "Family Based Treatments", which are a specific but highly effective approach, particularly widespread in the United States. Multifamily therapy (MFT), which involves bringing several families together to address the problem of anorexia, has proved effective for several years now.
Since January 2019, multifamily therapy has been offered to adolescents aged 12 to 18 who are being followed at the Maison de Solenn-Maison des Adolescents at Cochin Hospital for anorexia nervosa, as well as their families.
Each group brings together 5 to 7 families and comprises 10 3-hour sessions, with 3 weeks between each session. 2 groups are offered per year. Multi-family therapy therefore involves 10 to 14 families per year. It complements the other approaches available in the department.
Primary objective:
To be able to describe the therapeutic processes at work in these multifamily groups in order to be able to better describe our therapeutic device and envisage possible modifications. These processes would be broken down into four areas: MFT and its effects on the anorexic symptom, MFT and its effects on the family, MFT as a group therapy and ways of improving the MFT system.
Secondary objectives:
- MFT and its effect on the symptom: to better describe and analyse the processes at work in multifamily therapy that lead to symptomatic improvement in adolescents through the perception of the adolescent himself, his parents or his brothers and sisters.
- MFT and its effects on the family: to describe in detail the psychotherapeutic processes within the MFT system that are involved in changing family relationships.
- MFT and its effects as group therapy: The context of group therapy is often a powerful lever/motivator of change and the investigators are seeking to better describe and understand the mechanisms at play in the group and how this influences the family and the anorexic symptom.
- Areas for improvement in MFT: Our study also aims to determine, in the context of a multifamily group for anorexia nervosa, the therapeutic contexts (single-family, intragenerational, multigenerational) and therapeutic mediations most conducive to change, in order to improve our practice and therapeutic proposals.
The study is therefore being proposed to all the families who have taken part in the multifamily therapy for anorexia nervosa, i.e. the adolescents being followed, their parents and siblings.
The investigators propose to use a qualitative methodology aimed at collecting the experiences of patients suffering from anorexia nervosa, their parents and their siblings, using alternately, depending on the group, data collection by focus group or by individual semi-structured interview according to a semi-structured interview guide specifically designed by the research team. The data was collected 4 to 6 months after the tenth and final session of the multifamily group.
The theoretical framework is qualitative and no statistical comparison is expected.
The investigators chose to use Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to study the meaning that the subject constructs from lived experiences. IPA is a recognised method of content analysis, particularly in health psychology.
Approximately 3 months after the end of a multifamily group on anorexia nervosa, the investigators will contact the families by telephone or e-mail to invite the families to take part in research interviews which will take place 4 to 6 months after the tenth and last session of the multifamily group in which the family took part.
The investigators will arrange to meet the families in the department on the same day to carry out an information interview, collect non-oppositions, interviews to collect socio-demographic data and then individual semi-structured interviews or focus groups (depending on staff availability).
The qualitative analysis of our research concerns the thematic analysis of the participants' discourse (adolescent patients, parents and siblings of these adolescents), so the main evaluation criterion concerns the extraction of sufficiently rich material from the discourse to carry out this analysis.
Study design
- Observational model
- Case only
- Time perspective
- Prospective
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Participants in a multifamily therapy group for adolescents, their parents and siblings | – | Behavioral: PsychotherapyThe study is therefore being proposed to all the families who have taken part in the multifamily therapy for anorexia nervosa, i.e. the adolescents being followed, their parents and siblings. The investigators propose to use a qualitative methodology aimed at collecting the experiences of patients suffering from anorexia nervosa, their parents and their siblings, using alternately, depending on the group, data collection by focus group or by individual semi-structured interview according to a semi-structured interview guide specifically designed by the research team. The data was collected 4 to 6 months after the tenth and final session of the multi-family group. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 6 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult, Older adult
- Study population
- The study is therefore being offered to all families who have taken part in multifamily therapy for anorexia nervosa, i.e. the adolescent patients being treated for anorexia nervosa, their parents and siblings. These patients and their families come from the clinical population followed in our institution for anorexia nervosa: the Maison des Adolescents of the Cochin Hospital - Maison de Solenn (APHP, Paris). Participation in a multi-family group is complementary to the usual care provided in the department (psychiatric, pediatric and dietetic follow-up) and does not replace the usual individual care.
Key inclusion criteria (7 listed)
- Parents (or any adult identified as a referent by the teenager), teenagers and siblings (over 6 years old) who have taken part in multi-family therapy (people from the teenager's family who have not taken part in the group will not be included),
- Adolescents aged 12 to 20,
- Adolescents with anorexia nervosa according to DSM5 criteria,
- Adolescents treated at the Maison des Adolescents at Cochin Hospital,
- Non-opposition of adolescents, their parents and siblings.
Key exclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Contraindication to multifamily therapy (i.e. any family situation that makes it impossible to bring parents and children together in family therapy without changing the setting (parents stripped of parental authority, educational removal measure, mediated visits, etc.),
- Any patient whose main diagnosis is not anorexia nervosa according to DSM5 criteria.
- Patients with an autistic spectrum disorder, a chronic psychotic disorder or an intellectual disability as their primary or secondary diagnosis according to DSM 5.
- Participants under curatorship or guardianship
- Participants not covered by a Social Security scheme.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| PsychotherapyAlso: Multifamily Therapy for anorexia nervosa during adolescenceMultifamily therapy (MFT), which involves bringing several families together to address the problem of anorexia nervosa, has proved effective for several years now. Since January 2019, multifamily therapy has been offered to adolescents aged 12 to 18 who are being treated for anorexia nervosa at the Maison de Solenn-Maison des Adolescents at Cochin Hospital, and to their families. Each group brings together 5 to 7 families and comprises 10 3-hour sessions, with 3 weeks between each session. 2 groups are offered per year. Multifamily therapy therefore involves 10 to 14 families per year. It complements the other approaches available in the department. | Behavioural | Participants in a multifamily therapy group for adolescents, their parents and siblings |
Primary outcome
Semi-structured qualitative interviews
Time frame: Day of inclusion
Semi-structured individual or group (focus group) interviews following a pre-designed interview guide. The qualitative analysis of our research concerns the thematic analysis of the participants' discourse (adolescent patients, parents and siblings of these adolescents), so the main evaluation criterion concerns the extraction of sufficiently rich material from the discourse to carry out this analysis.
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 12 Sep 2025.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
Related trials for Anorexia Nervosa
Not yet recruiting
Be Body Brave: Digital Written Exposure Therapy for Eating Disorders
Eating Disorders
RecruitingObservational study
Speech Groups for Children Living With a Sibling Who Suffers From Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa
Enrolling by invitation
Sleep and Activity For Eating Disorders
Eating Disorders, Anorexia Nervosa
Not yet recruitingObservational study
Biomarkers in EV Associated With Marrow Adiposity in Anorexia
Anorexia Nervosa Restricting Type, Anorexia Nervosa (DSM-IV Revised Criteria)
Active, not recruiting
Targeting Social Function in Anxiety and Eating Disorders
Eating Disorders, Anorexia Nervosa
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Marie-Rose MORO, MD, PhD study director
University Hospital Cochin, Maison des Adolescents - Youth Department, F-75014 Paris, France
Salomé Grandclerc, MD principal investigator
University Hospital Cochin, Maison des Adolescents - Youth Department, F-75014 Paris, France
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
An observational study of Anorexia Nervosa, run by Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris at 1 site in France.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 7 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Sep 2025. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in France. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Salomé Grandclerc, MD (0033158412426, salome.grandclerc@aphp.fr), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Semi-structured qualitative interviews (time frame: Day of inclusion). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 12 Sep 2025.