Medical intervention helps alleviate the immediate
physical problems associated with anorexia, but by
itself, it rarely changes behavior.
Psychotherapy plays
a major role in the helping the anorectic understand
and recover from anorexia. Several different types of
psychotherapy are used depending on the individual’s
situation.
Generally, the goal of psychotherapy is help
the individual develop a healthy attitude toward their
body and food. This may involve addressing at the
root causes of anorexic behavior as well as addressing
the behavior itself.
Some types of psychotherapy that have been successful
in treating anorectics are listed below.
-Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) is designed to
change the individual’s thoughts and feelings about
his or her body and behaviors toward food, but it
does not address why those thoughts or feelings exist.
This therapy is relatively short-term.
-Psychodynamic therapy, also called psychoanalytic
therapy, attempts to help the individual gain insight
into the cause of the emotions that trigger their anorexic
behavior. This therapy tends to be longer term
that CBT.
-Interpersonal therapy is short-term therapy that
helps the individual identify issues and problems in
relationships. The individual may be asked to look
back at his or her family history to try to recognize
problem areas and work toward resolving them.
-Family and couples therapy is helpful in dealing with
conflict or disorder that may be a factor in perpetuating
anorexic behavior. Family therapy is especially
useful in helping parents who are anorectics avoid
passing on their attitudes and behaviors on to their
children.
