Background: Several unsuccessful attempts have been made to reach a cross-disciplinary consensus on issues fundamental to the field of eating disorders in the United States (U.S.).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe present article reports on a 2-year pilot study that evaluated the effectiveness of an intuitive eating program for patients in an eating disorder treatment center. Standardized measures of intuitive eating and eating disorder and psychological symptoms were administered. Psychotherapists and dietitians rated patients on the healthiness of their eating attitudes and behaviors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFamily environment has been shown to be one of the factors related to the presence of eating disorders among young-adult females. Clinical experience and theories about eating disorders postulate that implicit family rules are an intricate part of family process that may have a great effect on the creation and maintenance of such problems. This study compared implicit family process rules (specifically rules pertaining to kindness; expressiveness and connection; constraining thoughts, feelings, and self; inappropriate caretaking; and monitoring) in families with a young-adult female diagnosed with an eating disorder-either anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or eating disorder not otherwise specified-and families with a young-adult female without an eating disorder diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe authors describe a psychological treatment for women with eating disorders who have theistic spiritual beliefs and illustrate its application with a case report. They begin by briefly summarizing a theistic view of eating disorders. Then they illustrate how a theistic approach can complement traditional treatment by describing the processes and outcomes of their work with a 23-year-old Christian woman receiving inpatient treatment for an eating disorder not otherwise specified and a major depressive disorder (recurrent severe).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe relationships among trauma, eating disorders, and spirituality are complex. Both trauma and eating disorders can distance women from their own spirituality, which undermines a potentially important treatment resource. In this article, we offer suggestions based on our clinical experience for helping eating disorder patients who have suffered trauma to rediscover their faith and spirituality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpiritual interventions are rarely used in contemporary treatment programs and little empirical evidence is available concerning their effectiveness. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a spiritual group intervention for eating disorder inpatients. We compared the effectiveness of a Spirituality group with Cognitive and Emotional Support groups using a randomized, control group design.
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