This suggests that we need to develop stronger relationships with individuals with lived experience to truly understand what is working and not working. Centring the experiences of people who have and have not received treatment, in a wide variety of settings, would entail deeply engaging with those individuals, and this requires good qualitative research. So we need qualitative research on top of quantitative research. Greater dialogue between individuals, families, and providers would also help to bridge significant divides between those who deliver and those who receive care.
We cannot abstract individuals from the social context especially in the case of eating disorders, where context is deeply implicated in girls' and women's disordered eating. Developing an effective supportive system depends on acknowledging that neither individuals nor systems need fixing in isolation. We need to work at the interface of individuals and systems to better understand individuals' complex needs as well as to expand possibilities for treatment within the system and care in communities as well.
Our solutions must be grounded in a strong understanding of the social-situatedness and the lived, embodied experiences of diverse individuals with eating disorders.
We thank you and welcome questions from the committee.