Behavioral Therapy For Individuals With Anorexia

Incidences of Anorexia Nervosa have appeared to increase sharply in the USA, UK and western European countries since the beginning of the 60s (Gordon, 2001). The increasing prevalence of the disease has led the World Health Organisation to declare eating disorders a global priority area within adolescent mental health (Becker et al. 2011). Anorexia has in many ways become a modern epidemic (Gordon, 2000) and with a mortality rate of 10% per decade (Gorwood et al. 2003), the highest of any mental disorder (Bulik et al. 2006), it is an epidemic that social and biological scientists have been working tirelessly to understand.

In this paper, I will discuss how cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can be utilized in the management of eating disorders. More specifically I will identify Anorexia Nervosa and provide statistics that relate to the disease. Etiologies will be discussed as well as symptoms. Various techniques of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy will be described as well as the rationale as it relates to the clinical issue.

Anorexia nervosa has a higher mortality rate than any other psychological illness. Its primary clinical feature is extreme emaciation as a result of the patient's refusal to maintain a healthy body weight. Weight loss may be achieved through caloric restriction or a combination of caloric restriction and purging behaviors (vomiting, laxatives, and exercise) (Understanding eating disorders, 2013, Australia Psychological Society). Besides self-starvation, other physical signs of the disorder include intolerance of the cold, fatigue, low blood pressure, slow or irregular heartbeat, amenorrhea, thinning hair, and fine, light excessive body hair called lanugo (Symptoms, 2013, Anorexia nervosa.). Long-term complications of anorexia may include hormonal and endocrine imbalances, osteoporosis (bone loss) and major organ failure (Symptoms, 2013, Anorexia nervosa.).

Anorexia nervosa is a debilitating disorder that affects the lives of many adolescents and can serious if not fatal consequences if not treated properly (Hurst & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2015; Wilson, Grilo, & Vitousek, 2007; Westwood & Kendal, 2012; Grave, Calugi, Ghoch, Conti & Fairburn, 2014). Two interventions that are often used in the treatment of AN are cognitive behavior therapy and family based treatment. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and family based treatment (FBT) can either be used separately or in conjunction depending on the patient’s response and the degree of the disorder (Doyle, Le Grange, Loeb, Doyle, & Crosby, 2012; Lock et al., 2015; Madden et al., 2015). CBT aims to decease the symptoms of anorexia nervosa by changing the

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that consists of self-regulated food restriction in which the person strives for thinness and also involves distortion of the way the person sees his or her own body. An anorexic person weighs less than 85% of their ideal body weight. The prevalence of eating disorders is between .5-1% of women aged 15-40 and about 1/20 of this number occurs in men. Anorexia affects all aspects of an affected person's life including emotional health, physical health, and relationships with others (Shekter-Wolfson et al 5-6). A study completed in 1996 showed that anorexics also tend to possess traits that are obsessive in nature and carry heavy emotional

The development of anorexia nervosa arises from factors that are associated with cognitive functions. Thus, many research studies have distinguished two clinically effective treatments for anorexia: cognitive behavioral therapy and family-based therapy. Although the two treatments differ in their approach to treating anorexia, they share the common goal of weight restoration and empowering the patients, which would ultimately lead to an improved quality of life.

Maintenance treatment for anorexia nervosa: A comparison of cognitive behavior therapy and treatment as usual. By: Jacqueline C. Carter, Traci L. McFarlane, Carmen Bewell, Marion P. Olmstead, D. Blake Woodside, Allan S. Kaplan, and Ross D. Crosby.

There is an ongoing debate about nature vs nurture when it comes to what causes anorexia- is it caused by genes or the environment we are living it? I, personally, say that nature has more of an impact to cause anorexia than nurture does. There is a misconception that anorexia is a choice; however, research shows that the disorder 50-80% caused by genes. One cannot tell that people are anorexic solely based on their appearance since they can look underweight, overweight, or normal weight.

What is in-patient and out-patient care: Anorexia nervosa is related with severe medical sickness and marked psychosocial comorbidity. It has the highest humanity rate of all mental illnesses and degeneration happens often. The general occurrence of anorexia nervosa is at least eight people per 100 000 per year, with an average prevalence of 0·3% in girls and young women. The severity and low occurrence of the condition are reasons why large randomised exact trials are needed and why troubles arise in carrying out of treatment studies. In adults with anorexia nervosa, some indication shows the success of outpatient focal psychodynamic therapy and cognitive behaviour therapy. In one trial, at the end of the treatment period, a supportive therapy delivered by specialists was superior to two specific psychotherapies, with reverence to a joint global outcome measure. Patients enter inpatient care mostly from prior ambulatory care such as referral from a family doctor, or through emergency medicine departments. The patient officially becomes an “inpatient” at the writing of an admission note. Outpatient care is medical care provided on an outpatient basis as well as diagnosis, surveillance, consultation, treatment,

Many people, mainly woman experience the feeling of being fat. This feeling is a key factor for diagnosing anorexia nervosa (AN). AN is characterized by severe and serious disorders of self-perception of their body and the determined pursuit of thinness. This disorder was first discovered by Morton in 1689. AN was believed to be a form of hysteria but then was thought to be a hereditary abnormality of the central neurological system that only appeared in young females. The term Anorexia Nervosa was established in 1883 by Huchard, and Sigmund Freud hypothesized that anorexia was associated with melancholy and most often it appeared in sexual immature females. AN is appearing more in the recent decades than any decades in the past. This disorder is found amongst both genders but is more prevalent in females. It occurs 10-20 times more in females than it does in males and is mainly in developed countries. (Wozniak, Rekleiti,& Roupa, 2012). Anorexia Nervosa is found to have significant life impairment and a negative effect of Quality of Life. Eating disorders have a higher mortality rate than any other mental illness. The low recovery rate and high mortality rate is worse in restricting Anorexia Nervosa than any other eating disorder. (Sy, 2013.) According to the DSM-IV-TR handbook some criterions for this disorder are as follows, criterion A (“the refusal to maintain a body weight

Do you know anyone who has suffered from Anorexia? Today I will be talking about this disorder and giving you a better understanding on why it happens, to who it happens, how you can be diagnosed, any symptoms, and most importantly how this disorder can affect your health.

Mayer, Schebendach, Bodell, Shingleton, & Walsh (2012) completed a study to learn more about eating behaviors in Anorexia Nervosa (AN) patients before and after the patients with AN were able to stabilize their weight, which means the act of keeping their weight from fluctuating. “Anorexia Nervosa is a psychiatric illness that is characterized by low weight, an intense fear of gaining weight, and the fear of fat; as core symptoms of this illness, these fears lead to significant dietary restriction and weight loss” (p. 290). Eating behaviors are any behaviors in relation to eating that may be uncharacteristic: restricting (limiting what they eat), binging (indulging, or eating excessively), and purging (getting rid of or removing food by

“Anorexia Nervosa is the deadliest of all psychiatric disorders.” says Dr. Michelle Jorgensen. Jorgensen, M (2011, March 11). This is a disorder where the person is obsessed with the fear of becoming overweight and their appearance. Even though they are severely underweight they engage in self starving to try to prevent themselves from gaining weight. There are two forms of Anorexia Nervosa, the restricting type and purging/binging type. The restricting type is where the person reduces the amount of food they eat or they do not eating at all. The purging/binging type is where a person eats a large sum of food and after purges everything out by forcing themselves to vomit. With the purging type the person might also use laxatives or diuretics

Teens all over the world are leaning on Anorexia to look, and feel better. Anorexia is the third most common long-term illness among teenagers. People that are diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa is greatly affected by the disorder, in more than one way. People with Anorexia Nervosa have to deal with not only health issues, but also mental and social issues. They are put through a lot after being diagnosed with a disorder that is this serious.

Many factors contribute to the onset of anorexia. Researchers estimate the influence of genetic factors in anorexia to be between 33 to 84%.