Anorexia Nervosa As A Mental Health Problem

This research examines anorexia nervosa, which is an eating disorder characterized by self-starvation, whose victims are usually young women. The research focuses on theoretical and empirical work addressing therapies and interventions for anorexia nervosa.

Hartman (1995) held that the preferred approach to the treatment 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. Hartman (1995) 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.

A six-stage model has been offered 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) reported results of an individua

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this group, patients focus on symptom control for eating disorders. When a readiness evaluation determines that the time is right, patients are moved to an open-ended group wherein they address deeper issues associated with their eating disorders. Psychodynamic therapy characterizes the activities in the open-ended group. Psychodynamic therapy is effective in the treatment of underlying conflicts associated with anorexia nervosa. Griffiths, Beumont, Russell, Touyz, and Moore (1997) evaluated white, female anorexia nervosa patients in a group therapy situation. The group therapy was characterized by an intensive four-week multicomponent psychotherapy outpatient program dealing with eating disorders. Those patients who improved during the program in relation to their anorexic disorder were those patients who were not diagnosed with a personality disorder. The patients who registered improvement also were those members of the group who were not characterized by a very low percent of ideal body weight. In other words, this group therapy program worked well on people whose anorexic condition was less serious in nature than on people whose anorexic condition was quite advanced. Group therapies as a classification typically prod
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Approximate Word count = 1412
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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