PREVENTION/INTERVENTION OF ANOREXIA NERVOSA

INDIVIDUAL, GROUP, AND FAMILY THERAPIES

This research reviews alternative therapies for use in prevention and intervention strategies associated with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. Background information on anorexia nervosa, problem statement, justification for this research, research purpose, and scope of the research are addressed in this section.

Background Information on Anorexia Nervosa

Eating disorders, of which anorexia nervosa is one, are characterized by severe disturbances in eating behavior (American Psychiatric Association, 1994, p. 539). Eating disorders exist along a continuum on which the end points are anorexia nervosa, characterized by self-starvation, and bulimia nervosa, characterized by binge eating and purging of the system (Stacey, 1994, p. 177).

The essential characteristics of anorexia nervosa are that an individual refuses to maintain minimally normal body weight, has an intense fear of gaining weight, and exhibits a significance psychological disturbance in relation to the self-perception of body shape or size (American Psychiatric Association, p. 539). The general guideline for a determination that a person is underweight in relation to a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa is a weight of less than 85 percent of the weight that is considered to be normal for that person's age and height as calculated from Metropolitan Life Insurance tables. A specific determination that an indivi

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of anorexia nervosa is individual therapy. This individual therapy should be grounded in depth psychology in conjunction with non-verbal or pre-verbal forms of associative art therapy, music therapy based on depth psychology, body-oriented self-discovery, and relaxation therapy. Feiereis (pp. 250-263) held further that the effectiveness of this individual therapy may be enhanced through prevention ad intervention programs that also include family-based therapy and topic-centered group therapy. The inclusion of physical therapy also may be beneficial in some cases. The study relied on data applicable to 551 anorexic patients. Selvini-Palazzoli and Viaro (1988, pp. 129-148) offered a six-stage model for use in treating chronic anorexic patients. The base assumptions underlying this model are that the main purpose of the therapy is the improvement of the patient's personal relations external to the therapy itself, and that the focus of the treatment is on the strategic incapacity of the patient to cope with her or his life situation. The patient's personal life situation is described in this model as a concealed family game. Robin, Siegel, Koepke, and Moye (1994, pp. 111-116) reported results of an individual approach to ther
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Dare Russell, Koepke Moye, Psychiatric Association, DeMont Webb, Wax Cassell, Darko Clarkin, anorexia nervosa, United Social, Felker Stivers, Therapies Feiereis, United Kingdom, family therapy, american psychiatric association, psychiatric association, american psychiatric, eating disorders, anorexia nervosa patients, nervosa patients, individual therapies, prevention intervention, treatment anorexia, individual therapy, treatment anorexia nervosa, therapy anorexia nervosa, prevention intervention strategies,
Approximate Word count = 4105
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page)