Viernes, 20/03 – Conferencia 3. The lost emotional self in longstanding anorexia nervosa: the SPEAKS approach to clinical change

Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Reader in Clinical Psychology at the Salomons Institute, Canterbury Christ Church University (UK). Her clinical and research work focus on evidence-based care for people with eating disorders, change processes in psychotherapy, neurodivergence, emotion and emotion-focused therapy.
Anna is the co-developer and research lead for Specialist Psychotherapy with Emotion for Anorexia in Kent and Sussex (SPEAKS), an innovative outpatient psychotherapy for adults with longstanding anorexia nervosa that argues emotional processing is central to clinical change. SPEAKS was developed in a rigorous research programme utilising a bottom-up, practice-based process, integrating empirical data and lived-experience perspectives on recovery. The evidence-base for SPEAKS therapy includes feasibility and acceptability trials, alongside detailed change-process research examining how change unfolds during therapy. She has published widely on emotion, identity and recovery in anorexia nervosa, including empirical and clinical papers and the co-authored 2025 book Transforming Emotional Pain and Rediscovering the Self in Anorexia Nervosa: A Clinical Guide.