ANOREXIA NERVOSA

Anorexia nervosa is a complex eating disorder demonstrated with refusal to maintain a healthy body weight. As the result they always have a distorted body image of them. So the treatment focuses on their symptoms of the problem they have been suffering.

1-Insight Development: The most important task before starting the treatment of the anorexia nervosa patient is to develop insight about their problem. The purpose of the insight development is to make the client more aware about his problem. Insight can be developed through telling the client about the costs and benefits of the problems, and showing him or her about the negative effects of the anorexia nervosa.

2-Behavioral Management: On short term basis the successful behavioral programs reduce the most obvious presenting features of anorexia nervosa. In the behavioral programs the client is provided with food, on direct supervision. And then he is encouraged on the achievement of normal weight and eating behavior through the use reinforcements given to the client. Behavioral management can result in weight gain of the client. The associated biochemical and cardiac abnormalities can also be improved by taking proper food. And later on in psychological symptoms, such as depression and anxiety associated with the problem can also have improvement.

3-Cognitive Therapy for Anorexia: Cognitive therapy is very crucial to anorexia treatment. It’s goal is to identify the negative thoughts and feelings that lead to the eating disorder. After the identification of the negative thoughts the task is to replace them with healthier, less distorted beliefs. This can be done using double column or triple column techniques.

4-Family Therapy: In the treatment of anorexia nervosa patients, the important task is to deal with the family conflicts that were the factors contributing for the problem of the client. The therapist gets the family's story focusing on negative, unhealthy relationship patterns that exist within the family. In other words, the therapist will ask each family member to tell the others why they are so annoying. In his approach each family member is asked to identify his or her needs and to tell the others why these things are needed. Then the family members try to meet each other halfway, to compromise.

5-Group Therapy: Group therapy is not only way of treatment but often a chosen modality for its cost-savings as well as its powerful effects. In groups specifically a patient can gain not only support for the gradual gains they accomplish, but also be confronted on issues more easily than in individual therapy. The person can get help from other members of the group to have an idea about his self image. So group therapy can be very beneficial for the development of the self esteem of the patient as well as regaining his distorted self image.

6-Interpersonal Therapy (IPT): Anorexia may be associated with feelings of low self-esteem, anxiety and self-doubt that are caused by problems interacting with people. During IPT, the therapist explores negative issues associated with the interpersonal relationships and plans how these issues can be resolved.