How Palliation Can Improve Care of Patients With Severe and Enduring Anorexia Nervosa

Abstract

Palliative care refers to clinical interventions whose purpose is relief of suffering, not treatment of a patient’s underlying illness. Palliation is widely used in the care of patients with serious physical illnesses, but its use in caring for patients with severe, persistent mental illnesses is controversial. This commentary on a case summarizes emerging themes in palliative psychiatry and explores its ethical feasibility in the care of patients with severe and enduring anorexia nervosa.