Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Psychological interventions in treating anorexia nervosa.pdf
Effectiveness of treatments for anorexia nervosa
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Maudsley model of family-based treatment for anorexia nervosa The Maudsley model of family-based treatment for anorexia nervosa was first developed in London in the mid-1980s. In this model, parents are given the a primary role in treatment, working together as a team in the home setting to reefed their child and confront anorexic behavior. Parents are also encouraged to separate anorexia from the child while performing this task, blaming the anorexia rather than the child and therefore minimizing the escalation of expressed emotion (Rhodes, Gosbee, Madden, & Brown, 2005). Treatment also includes a family meal where family members are coached to take on their specific roles. Siblings are incorporated in treatment to ease the patient’s distress resulting from this parental challenge to anorexia. They provide emotional support to their sister or brother. The siblings are not involved in the decisions about food or in monitoring eating, which is up to the parents. Instead, siblings can be someone to complain to, a shoulder to cry on, or someone to distract them from the difficult task of eating. Siblings can be an incredible resource for helping an adolescent in their recovery. Once safe eating and weight are achieved through parental intervention, responsibility for these issues was gradually handed back to the adolescent. A shorter and final phase of treatment is then completed to help the family resume normal adolescent development after the delays caused by the anorexia. The efficacy of this approach has been established in a number of controlled trials (Rhodes et al., 2005). Despite the demonstrated efficacy and excellent outcomes of the Maudsley model of family-based treatment for anorexia, another tre... ... middle of paper ... ...ther parents is a logical step to overcome issues isolation and creates a sense of solidarity. Peer support and criticism are powerful dynamics that can promote change, and being in the presence of other families has the effect of making the adolescent and their parents feel less central. They are a part of a large group, and the feeling of being constantly watched and observed by a professional is less intense. With the integration of the Maudsley method and multiple family therapy, family tension and dispute can be reduced, and a cooperative and supportive atmosphere and working environment can be created for adolescents and their families (Rhodes et al., 2005). Working alongside each other allows parents and teens to compare notes and learn from each other. Families are consultants to other families, and they are there to help one another.
Anorexia Nervosa has been a problematic disease many women suffer from. The article “The Slender Trap” was composed by Trina Rys who is a stay at home mother with a husband and one daughter. Rys writes the main reasons a woman may develop anorexia from. She states that the psychological pressures, expectations of friends and family and influences of the media all are factors when a woman is inflicted with the disease. I strongly agree with Rys persuading argument that anorexia could be caused by an unknown identity and the overall main focus of the ideal image of a woman. Although, I believe Rys requires a stronger argument on whether food restrictions executed by parents are a major step to developing the harmful illness. She seems to put emphasize on mainly women but does not shine any light on men.
Gladding, S. T. (2010). Family therapy: History, theory, and practice (5th Ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson
Each year millions of people in the United States develop serious and often fatal eating disorders. More than ninety percent of those are adolescent and young women. The consequences of eating disorders are often severe--one in ten end in death from either starvation, cardiac arrest, or suicide. Due to the recent awareness of this topic, much time and money has been attributed to eating disorders. Many measures have been taken to discover leading causes and eventual treatment for those suffering from anorexia. (http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource ...er.html#Causes of Eating Disorders) )
"Anorexia Nervosa--Part I." Harvard Mental Health Letter. Feb. 2003: 1-4. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.
...l, D. M., & Willard, S. G. (2003). When dieting becomes dangerous: A guide to understanding and treating anorexia and bulimia [Ebrary version]. Retrieved from http://libproxy.utdallas.edu/login?url=http://site.ebrary.com/lib/utdallas/Doc?id=10170079&ppg=4
Anorexia Nervosa (AN) was the first eating disorder to be classified, with some specific diagnostic criteria developed in the 1970s (Fairburn & Brownell, 2002). AN is a serious psychiatric disorder in terms of aetiology and epidemiology. 0.48% of prevalence of AN is estimated in girls who fall under the 15-19 age group (Lock et al., 2012). In AN, pathological thoughts and behaviours concerning food and weight, as well as emotions about appearance, eating and food co-occur (Lock et al., 2012). These thoughts, feelings and behaviours lead to changes in body composition and functions that are the direct results of starvation (Lock et al., 2012). The illness in adolescents causes severe affects physically and emotionally, and affects the social development of the individual. The causes of AN are not known but most of the researchers and clinicians agree that AN has multiple determinants (Garner et al., 1982) that emerge in a developmental sequence. Many physiological symptoms, common to semi-starvation irrespective of causes such as depressed mood, irritability, social withdrawal, loss of sexual libido, preoccupation with food, obsessional ruminations and rituals, as well as reduced alertness and concentration are also associated with Anorexia nervosa (Fairburn & Brownell, 2002). The illness is also associated with premorbid perfectionism, introversion, poor peer relations, and low self-esteem (Fairburn & Brownell, 2002). Patients suffering from AN, are also known to suffer from other physical consequences of starvation and other weight losing behaviours. The body’s response to starvation includes bone marrow suppression with increased susceptibility to overwhelming infection, which in the longer term may lead to health consequences s...
Napier provides a crucial exploration of the therapy of a family struggling with battles for the structure of their family and battles to define and grow their relationships with one another. Napier and Whitaker seamlessly and purposely work with each family member, educating and
Eating Disorders are on a rapid rise in the United States today, they sweep the halls of Junior High School, High Schools, College Campuses and even Elementary Schools. These disorders are often referred to by professionals as the “Deadly Diet,” however you may know them as Anorexia or Bulimia. Eating disorder effect more than 20% of young females and males in today’s society. Ranging in age from thirteen to forty. It is very rare for a child of a young age to not know someone who is suffering from an eating disorder or symptoms that are associated with one. Statistically it has been proven that one out of every five young woman suffer from serious issues dealing with eating and or weight. (Bruch, 25)
Anorexia nervosa is a life threatening eating disorder defined by a refusal to maintain fifteen percent of a normal body weight through self-starvation (NAMI 1). Ninety-five percent of anorexics are women between the ages of twelve and eighteen, however, “…in the past twenty years, this disorder has become a growing threat to high school and college students”(Maloney and Kranz 60). Anorexia produces a multitude of symptoms, and if not treated, anorexia can lead to permanent physical damage or death.
Minuchin, Salvador, et al. Psychosomatic Families: Anorexia Nervosa in Context. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1978.
Structural Family Therapy offers a framework that provides order and meaning within the family connections (Nichols, 2013). Divorce for a family is considered a significant transition for all parties involved. When counseling a family going through divorce the structural family therapist’s job is to build an alliance with the family and obtain information about the structure. The structure of the family consists of the roles, interactions, organization, and hierarchy. Family therapy yields the belief that changing the organization of the family leads to change in the individual members. The structural family therapist often will try to become part of the family to gain a perspective of their issues as whole so not to place the focus on one individual. Joining is an empathetic approach in helping families explain and break down their individual stories without uncomfortable challenge or unnecessary confrontation (Nichols, 2013). It is important to note that family dysfunction that often leads to divorce is not attributed to one individual, but the entire family system. In structural family therapy, part of dealing with the issue of divorce in the family is to focus on the interactions between all the family members both positive and negative. Through these interactions the therapist can discover where the conflicts arise, which will in turn help the therapist understand how these negative interaction affect the family. Family therapy in these cases allows for repair of long-standing interactional patterns in which divorce is just one of a series of ongoing transactions that are disruptive to the child’s development (Kaplan, 1977, p.75). The structural family therapist often has the family play out these family interactions via enactments so that he can get a firsthand look at maladaptive patterns, roles, and
The stage of adolescence contains major changes which can bring stress, confusion, and anxiety. Feelings of self-consciousness, low self esteem and comparison with peers start occurring during this time. Along with the physical changes there is also hormonal and brain changes that affect the adolescent physically, mentally, emotionally, and psychologically. During this time a person can feel tremendous pressure to find their place in the world among a great deal of confusion (“Eating Disorders and Adolescence,” 2013). Body image concerns and peer pressure are heightened during the period of adolescence, and are potential risk factors in the development of an eating disorder. While eating disorders can affects males and females of all ages, the average age of onset for Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and disordered eating takes place during adolescence. These disorders are often a coping mechanism for people to attempt to gain control of their situation when they feel helpless among other aspects of life (“Eating Disorders and Adolescence,” 2013). Eating disorders in children and teens can lead to a number of serious physical problems and even death (Kam, n.d.).
In 1978, Brunch called anorexia nervosa a 'new disease' and noted that the condition seemed to overtake ?the daughters of the well-to-do, educated and successful families.? Today it is acknowledged and accepted that anorexia affects more than just one gender or socio-economic class; however, much of the current research is focused on the female gender. ?Anorexia nervosa is characterized by extreme dieting, intense fear of gaining weight, and obsessive exercising. The weight loss eventually produces a variety of physical symptoms associated with starvation: sleep disturbance, cessation of menstruation, insensitivity to pain, loss of hair on the head, low blood pressure, a variety of cardiovascular problems and reduced body temperature. Between 10% and 15% of anorexics literally starve themselves to death; others die because of some type of cardiovascular dysfunction (Bee and Boyd, 2001).?
Nichols, M. P. (2010). Family therapy concepts and methods (9 ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
intervention. Families in Society. Vol. 88, pg. 42. Proquest Direct database. Retrieved February 25, 2015.