# Providers’ perspectives on clinical case consultation following online training in family-based treatment for adolescent anorexia nervosa

## TL;DR

This study explores how private practice clinicians view clinical case consultation after online training for treating adolescent anorexia nervosa.

## Contribution

The study identifies clinicians' positive attitudes and practical barriers to clinical case consultation following online training in family-based treatment.

## Key findings

- Clinicians found clinical case consultation valuable and important for learning family-based treatment.
- Common barriers to clinical case consultation included finding eligible patients and scheduling conflicts.
- Participants predicted and confirmed that clinical case consultation would be a key motivation for completing the training.

## Abstract

Online training programs offer accessible, cost-effective solutions to disseminate evidence-based interventions. Yet, online training is typically insufficient without additional clinical case consultation (CCC). This is particularly salient in adolescent eating disorders treatment, where clinical demand far outstrips capacities of providers trained in evidence-based treatment approaches. This study seeks to better understand attitudes and barriers to receiving CCC among private practice clinicians treating adolescent eating disorders.

Licensed private practice clinicians (n = 47; 100% female, average age 36 y old; 75% master’s degree; average of 4y experience) across the United States enrolled in a randomized trial offering online training (webinar or e-learning) in family-based treatment (FBT) for anorexia nervosa. Post online training, participants were asked before and after 12 sessions of expert CCC to self-report attitudes and barriers to obtaining CCC.

Prior to CCC, participants rated expert CCC in learning FBT as important/very important (100%). The majority participated in CCC since licensure (82%) and in the last year (68%), rating it valuable or very valuable (77%). Participants predicted that CCC would be valuable (96%) and an important motivation in completing the training study (96%). After CCC, participants viewed CCC as important/very important in learning FBT (94%). Common obstacles included finding a study-eligible patient (44%), scheduling constraints (19%), lost wages (16%), mismatch with consultant (3%), and hesitation to discuss cases (3%).

Clinicians reported favorable perspectives on CCC in complimenting learning FBT via online training. Future studies are needed to determine methods to deliver, assess, and scale CCC to enhance treatment fidelity.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40337-025-01511-8.

This study seeks to better understand attitudes and barriers to receiving clinical case consultation (CCC) among clinicians treating adolescent eating disorders in private practice settings. Clinicians answered questionnaires before and after receiving CCC as part of a larger randomized clinical trial investigating online training methods for family-based treatment (FBT). Private practice clinicians viewed CCC as valuable and important for learning FBT via online training. Common barriers to receiving CCC included practical issues such as finding an eligible study patient, scheduling conflicts, and lost wages. The findings suggest that integrating CCC with online training may be an important component when disseminating evidence-based treatments via online training formats.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40337-025-01511-8.