Waiting for treatment is a common experience for many people seeking support for an eating disorder. The CCI team has contributed to new research, published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders, examining what happens during this waiting period and how it may influence treatment engagement.

This research explored whether longer wait times were associated with greater illness severity at the start of treatment or reduced engagement in care. The findings showed that people arrived for their first appointment experiencing high levels of eating disorder symptoms and psychological distress, regardless of how long they had waited. Encouragingly, among those who attended their first appointment, longer wait times were not linked to poorer treatment outcomes or reduced engagement in treatment. The study highlights the significant challenges people face while waiting for support and reinforces the importance of timely responses to referrals and ongoing monitoring throughout the treatment journey. The findings may help inform service improvements aimed at supporting people more effectively from referral through to recovery.

The research was published as: Lindquist, J., Blackburn, R., McEvoy, P. M., Erceg-Hurn, D., and Tonta, K. E. (2026), How Is Waitlist Duration Associated With Clinical Presentation and Treatment Engagement in Public Eating Disorder Services? A Cohort Study.