Eating disorders in adolescents: review of treatment studies that include psychodynamically informed therapy.

In clinical practice, psychodynamic approaches represent an important component of the treatment for young people with eating disorders (EDs), even though the research literature remains modest regarding the most effective treatment for children, adolescents, or adults with an ED. Although there are very few clinical research studies of individual or family psychodynamic treatments of EDs, there is some evidence for efficacy from clinical trials. This article reviews studies of psychodynamically informed therapies for the treatment of EDs and discusses how the findings, although limited, suggest that further research into psychodynamic treatments of EDs in youth is warranted.

What may underlie differing perceptions of family functioning between mothers and their adolescent daughters with eating disorders?

Unlabelled: Daughters with eating disorders (ED) were found to perceive family functioning more negatively than their mothers. This study examined variables that may underlie these differences in a subgroup of adolescent girls and their mothers from the original study.

Methods: Participants were 77 mother-adolescent daughter dyads.

Is perceived family dysfunction related to comorbid psychopathology? A study at an eating disorder day treatment program.

The role of the family in the development of eating disorders has been a predominant research focus. However, few studies of patients in an eating disorder (ED) day treatment program (DTP) have explored the relationship between self-reported family system functioning, self-reported comorbid psychopathology and current comorbid psychological symptom status. This study examined patients at presentation to an ED DTP, their self-reported perception of family functioning and the relationship with characteristics of their own comorbid psychopathology characteristics.

The relationship between eating pathology and perceived family functioning in eating disorder patients in a day treatment program.

This study examines the perceived levels of family functioning and their relationships with eating pathology across three eating disorder diagnostic groups. Charts of 65 day treatment female patients, ranging in age from 12 to 27 years, were studied by diagnosis and assessed using the FACES-II and EDI-2. Using multiple regression analyses, it was determined that perceived family functioning yielded significant predictions for various EDI-2 subscales within both Anorexia Nervosa and Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified diagnoses.