A 2025 research study looked at how three UK eating disorder services adopted the PEACE Pathway. From this work, the PEACE Self-Assessment Checklist was created. This article explains the insights from the research and how other services can benefit.
PEACE and the three services in the study
PEACE stands for Pathway for Eating Disorders and Autism developed from Clinical Experience. It was first developed at South London and Maudsley NHS trust in London and has since been adopted in other services. This study looked at three of them:
- PEACE-Maudsley: the original pathway, used in inpatient, outpatient and day care eating disorder services in London.
- BOB-PEACE: an adaptation for children and young people's community mental health services (known as CAMHS) in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West.
- EDAC: the Eating Disorders and Autism Collaborative in Scotland, a research project that works closely with autistic people with lived experience.
The researchers reviewed clinical documents, feedback from clinicians and autistic people, and service evaluations. This article descibes the findings of the published research paper.
Eight areas that shaped how services adopted PEACE
- Knowing the pathway and its resources
- Assessment and treatment planning
- Psychological treatments adapted to autistic needs
- Sensory wellbeing
- Nutritional care
- Feedback from people with lived experience
- Family and community involvement
- Staff training
The research identified eight areas that services needed to address to implement PEACE, though each service approached these areas differently to suit its own setting.
What clinicians found helpful
Clinicians said that some tools were particularly useful, especially when a formal autism diagnosis was delayed or unavailable. This first useful tool was a PEACE communication passport which is a document that records how a person prefers to communicate and what sensory needs they have. Sensory screening tools early in treatment also helped find out which sounds, lights, textures or foods a person finds difficult.
Clinical teams also held 'huddles', which are regular meetings to discuss complex cases and share learning. Clinicians described huddles as an important place to reflect and support each other.
Staff training helped too. At the Maudsley, clinicians' confidence in working with autism and eating disorders rose from 46 to 68 out of 100, and 97% recommended the training. In BOB-PEACE, 77% of 114 clinicians reported clinical improvements or lower risk after PEACE consultations. These figures come from clinicians' own reports.
How services can use the PEACE Service Self-Assessment checklist
The PEACE Self-Assessment Checklist was developed from the results of the study. It covers the eight areas that shaped how services implemented PEACE and the tool can provide insight and reflections to clinicians about on which areas of their work are already delivering neuro-inclusive approaches to eating disorder care and it can also identify key areas for improvement.
Related Published Research
- Tchanturia, K., Chubinidze, D., Duffy, F., Nimbley, E., Li, Z., & Holliday, J. (2025). Implementation Insights from the PEACE Pathway Across UK Eating Disorder Services. Nutrients, 17(9), 1532. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17091532
- Smith, K. A., & Tchanturia, K. (2020). Are Huddles the Missing PEACE of the Puzzle in Implementing Clinical Innovation for the Eating Disorder and Autism Comorbidity?. Frontiers in psychiatry, 11, 593720. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.593720
- Li, Z., Chubinidze, D., Croft, P., Webb, J., Sarpong, A., Zesch, E., & Tchanturia, K. (2025). "Don't talk to me like I am an illness": exploring patients' needs using the communication passport in an eating disorder service. „Reden Sie nicht mit mir, als sei ich eine Krankheit“: Untersuchung von Patientenbedürfnissen anhand eines Kommunikationspasses in einer Einrichtung für Essstörungen. Neuropsychiatrie : Klinik, Diagnostik, Therapie und Rehabilitation : Organ der Gesellschaft Osterreichischer Nervenarzte und Psychiater, 39(1), 28–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40211-024-00501-7
