Megan Knedgen, PsyD, a 2023 graduate of the PsyD Program in Clinical Psychology at Antioch University, Seattle, has written and published a dissertation, “Avoid it like the plague: Adults’ Lived Experience of Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder.”
Knedgen’s phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of adults with a DSM-5 diagnosis of avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). It describes key features of ARFID as treatment-seeking adults understand it.
Knedgen recruited nine treatment-seeking adults with a full-threshold diagnosis of ARFID (aged 20–42). She conducted In-depth, semi-structured, qualitative interviews to explore participants’ experiences and perceptions of avoidant and/or restrictive eating. This study’s findings highlighted participants’ perspectives on ARFID, which may help enhance treatment quality, retention, and engagement and inform the development and implementation of future interventions.
Read Knedgen’s dissertation, “Avoid it like the plague”: Adults’ Lived Experience of Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder,” here.
