Dialectical Behavior Therapy Group for Eating Disorders

1887 Words4 Pages

Dialectical Behavior Therapy Group for Eating Disorders
Every year, 30 million people in the United States of America suffer from an eating disorder (National Eating Disorder Association, 2014). Due to the complex nature of the disease, eating disorders are notoriously difficult to treat. New research suggests that DBT could provide qualities that other therapies lack. This paper will explore the diagnoses of various eating disorders, components of DBT, and the function of a DBT group in the treatment of eating disorders. Professionals in the field of eating disorders began exploring DBT, which was not previously used for eating disorders, and may have discovered an effective alternative.
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders are a nondiscriminatory disease that takes the lives of millions of people each year. As of 2014, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (5th ed.; DSM–5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) changed the criteria for eating disorders and included binge eating disorder as its own category instead of group it as an eating disorder not otherwise specified. The three main eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder and without intervention and proper treatment, individuals suffering from an eating disorder are faced with years of struggling, which may end in death.
Anorexia Nervosa
Popular culture glorifies anorexia as a fad diet or as an idealized body; however, anorexia does not equate to success, it is a deadly disease. In fact, anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any other psychiatric illness (Arcelus, Mitchell, Wales, & Nielsen, 2011). Individuals will go to any extreme in order to lose weight. According to the DSM-5, the foll...

... middle of paper ...

...org/get-facts-eating-disorders
Palmer, R. L. (2002). Dialectical behaviour therapy for borderline personality disorder. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 8, 10-16. doi:10.1192/apt.8.1.10
Safer, D. L., Telch, C. F., & Agras, W. S. (2001). Dialectical behavior therapy for bulimia nervosa. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 158, 632-634. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.158.4.632
Salbach-Andrae, H., Bohnekamp, I., Pfeiffer, E., Lehmkuhl, U., & Miller, A. L. (2008). Dialectical behavior therapy of anorexia and bulimia nervosa among adolescents: A case series. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 15(4), 415-425. doi:http://dx.doi.org.library3.webster.edu/10.1016/j.cbpra.2008.04.001
Telch, C. F., Agras, W. S., & Linehan, M. M. (2001). Dialectical behavior therapy for binge eating disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 1061-1065. doi:10.1037//0022-006X.69.6.1061

Open Document