Four Therapy Treatments for Eating Disorders
As doctors and mental health professionals better understand eating disorders, more treatment options have become available for treating these sometimes life-threatening conditions. Individuals suffering from anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating disorders should receive some type of therapy as soon as possible. Although oral medications and hospitalization are often important components of an individual's treatment plan, some kind of psychotherapy is always necessary to help treat the underlying cause that may have triggered onset of an eating disorder.
1. Psychotherapy: Psychotherapy is the most common form of therapy for individuals who are commencing the most difficult part of their treatment. Treatment of most eating disorders begins by treating the person's malnutrition and helping them establish a steady weight gain plan, if they suffer from anorexia. Psychotherapy addresses the underlying emotions that may have triggered onset of the eating disorder. Psychotherapy may focus on all aspects of the psychological and emotional health of the eating disorder patient.
2. Psychodynamic therapy: This is a form of psychotherapy that refers to an approach of therapy that seeks to encourage the patient to reveal the underlying feelings that may have triggered their eating disorder. Focus is put on the meaning of those feelings, and understanding why those feelings exist. The approach of psychodynamic therapy is based on the belief that there is an unconscious mind that operates as a kind of reservoir for feelings. Sometimes, these feelings may be too painful for the patient to deal with at surface level, so they may be suppressed in the unconscious (sometime referred to as the subconscious). Psychodynamic therapy is useful for patients who have long lived with denial about their condition, or whose experience with an eating disorder is strongly connected to a history of underlying negative emotions, beliefs, and thinking patterns.
3. Cognitive therapy: Cognitive therapy focuses on actively working towards changing though patterns and revising long-standing beliefs that may be enabling an eating disorder. Negative thoughts are replaced with more realistic, positive believes, and there is an attempt to understand what triggers the negative thoughts and attitudes. Cognitive therapy is considered more of a "hands on" approach that seeks to help patients establish normal eating patterns, caloric intakes, and healthy attitudes toward food and exercise. Cognitive therapy seeks to provide patients with a safe and structured atmosphere in which to address fears, emotions, and negative thinking patterns and beliefs.
4. Family therapy: Family therapy can be an important part of an individual's treatment plan. This type of therapy operates on the principle that eating disorders are family problems, and that individuals need their family's full support in order to reach a full recovery. Also, studies have shown that family members with eating disorders have a strong influence on other family members. Family therapy seeks to provide a safe and productive environment that allows open discussion regarding any concerns or questions that family members may harbor regarding eating disorders. Family therapy also seeks to establish healthy attitudes toward food and exercise among all family members.
Eating disorder news on the Web
Food Cravings Reduced By Lizard Saliva
A drug made from the saliva of the Gila monster lizard is effective in reducing the craving for food. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, have tested the drug on rats, who after treatment ceased their cravings for both food and chocolate... |
Differences Seen In Brain Circuitry Between Women With Anorexia And Those With Obesity
Why does one person become anorexic and another obese? A study recently published by a University of Colorado School of Medicine researcher shows that reward circuits in the brain are sensitized in anorexic women and desensitized in obese women. The findings also suggest that eating behavior is related to brain dopamine pathways involved in addictions... |
Study Identifies Five Factors That Promote A Positive Body Image In Women
Women with high family support and limited pressure to achieve the 'thin and beautiful' ideal have a more positive body image. That's according to a new study looking at five factors that may help young women to be more positive about their bodies, in the context of a society where discontent with appearance is common among women. The work by Dr... |
Possible Link Discovered Between The Hormone Ghrelin And Hedonic Eating
When eating is motivated by pleasure, rather than hunger, endogenous rewarding chemical signals are activated which can lead to overeating, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). The phenomenon ultimately affects body mass and may be a factor in the continuing rise of obesity... |
Addiction-Like Behaviors Can Stem From Binge Eating
A history of binge eating - consuming large amounts of food in a short period of time - may make an individual more likely to show other addiction-like behaviors, including substance abuse, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. In the short term, this finding may shed light on the factors that promote substance abuse, addiction, and relapse... |
Key Events Can Trigger Eating Disorders
Eating disorders can be triggered by lack of support following traumatic events such as bereavement, relationship problems, abuse and sexual assault, according to research published in the May issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing. Even changing school or moving home can prove too much for some young people and lead to conditions such as anorexia or bulimia... |
Our Brains On Food: From Anorexia To Obesity And Everything In Between
The brains of people with anorexia and obesity are wired differently, according to new research. Neuroscientists for the first time have found that how our brains respond to food differs across a spectrum of eating behaviors - from extreme overeating to food deprivation. This study is one of several new approaches to help better understand and ultimately treat eating disorders and obesity... |
Super-Thin Models Banned From Catwalks And Ads, Israel
The Israeli parliament has passed a new law which prohibits clinically underweight models from appearing in advertisements and catwalks. Lawmakers believe the presence of super-skinny models in the media and fashion parades encourages eating disorders and promotes unrealistic and unhealthy body image goals... |
How A Single Gene Mutation Leads To Uncontrolled Obesity
Researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center have revealed how a mutation in a single gene is responsible for the inability of neurons to effectively pass along appetite suppressing signals from the body to the right place in the brain. What results is obesity caused by a voracious appetite... |
Eating Disorders Cause Severe Dental Erosion
It is estimated that about 1.1 million men and women in the UK suffer from eating disorders, with the dark figure thought to be even higher, considering that many more keep their problem a secret. A study by the University of Bergen in Norway, showed that patients who suffer from eating disorders, such as Anorexia and Bulimia, experienced substantially more dental health problems... |
Prader-Willi Syndrome - Challenge To Stop Over-Eating In Children
A Challenge to find new research methods for hyperphagia, or unregulated appetite, a condition prevalent in children with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) - a genetic disorder of chromosome 15, has been announced by InnoCentive. Inc., and the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research. Around 6,500 children are born with the genetic disorder each year... |
Colorful Plates Boost A Picky Eater's Appetite
Parents of picky eaters can encourage their children to eat more nutritionally diverse diets by introducing more color to their meals, according to a new Cornell University study. The study finds that colorful food fare is more appealing to children than adults... |
Experts Urge BMI Method For Calculating Weight In Kids With Eating Disorders
An exact determination of expected body weight for adolescents based on age, height and gender is critical for diagnosis and management of eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia. However, there are no clear guidelines regarding the appropriate method for calculating this weight in children with such disorders. In a study published online Jan... |
Binge Eating And Depression Often Linked In Teenage Girls
After carrying out a US-wide study, researchers report that depressed adolescent girls are two times more likely to begin binge eating as girls who are not depressed. In addition, girls who regularly binge-eat are twice as likely to develop symptoms of depression. The findings indicate that adolescent girls who show signs of either binge-eating or depression should be screened for both disorders... |
Anorexia Recommendations Challenged
According to researchers at UCSF, adolescents who are hospitalized with anorexia nervosa do not gain considerable weight during their initial week in hospital by receiving treatment based on current guidelines for refeeding. The study is published in the January issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health with an associated report... |
New Approach To Management Of Overeating In Children
Overeating, whether in children or adults, often takes place even in the absence of hunger, resulting in weight gain and obesity. Current methods to treat such overeating in youth focus on therapies that restrict what kids may eat, requiring them to track their food intake and engage in intensive exercise... |
Overweight Women Trained In Stress Reduction And Mindful Eating To Curb Weight Gain
Many dread gaining weight during the holiday season, but there may be hope for those who find that stress causes them to reach for yet another helping of holiday goodies. In a study by UCSF researchers published online in the Journal of Obesity, mastering simple mindful eating and stress-reduction techniques helped prevent weight gain even without dieting... |
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