Phase 1
Phase 1 begins with the patient’s admission to the inpatient unit of the centre. The interviews showed that the first week was crucial to the treatment process. Learning to eat again was the central theme in this phase. The nursing staff supported the patients in normalising their eating pattern and exercise pattern from the first day of admission. The nurses were very insistent: respondents felt perplexed when they had to join their first group meal immediately after the intake interview. One of the respondents stated: