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Step 1
Know that psychotherapy is the generic name for many different types of treatments aimed at treating eating disorders with some type of mental therapy. This includes psychodynamic therapy, cognitive therapy, family therapy, group therapy and nutritional counseling.
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Step 2
Understand that the purpose of psychodynamic therapy is to get a patient to understand his subconscious thoughts and to express them. Psychodymamic therapies can be applied either to the eating disorder behaviors or the underlining causes that led to the eating disorder.
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Step 3
Learn that cognitive therapy strives to look at the patient's issues of self-image by delving into why the patient has the negative view of her body. The ultimate goal of cognitive therapy is to get the patient to realize that his self-view is a distorted one.
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Step 4
Keep in mind that family therapy is essential not only because the patient's family is affected by the eating disorder and they need a way to cope, but also because family relationships frequently play a vital role in eating disorders. As families play an important role in continual successful recovery, family therapy has been shown to contribute positively in preventing the patient from relapsing.
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Step 5
Know group therapy has the advantage of surrounding an individual with his peers and removing the feelings of isolation and shame. These types of therapies are both powerful and comparatively less expensive. Group therapy allows the individual to develop effective coping strategies and realistic goals. It also helps the individual recognize and celebrate meeting small goals and repairs an individual's ability to have effective interpersonal conversations, one of the emotional skills that eating disorders take their toll on.
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Step 6
In nutritional counseling, with the help of a licensed nutritionist, a patient can be given a meal plan to combat the eating disorder. In addition, the focus of this type of therapy is on the medical damage that the disorder is doing to the patient's body.
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Step 1
Understand hospitalization is used due to severe medical problems that eating disorders can cause such as chemical imbalances, heart problems, and suicidal tendencies.
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Step 2
Know that patients are typically hospitalized in the United States only in the very short-term, in order to get the patient's weight up.
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Step 3
Be aware that hospitalization costs have driven most medical professionals and patients to seek alternatives.
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Step 1
Understand drug therapy has been shown to be extremely effective in anorexia nervosa cases.
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Step 2
Know that drug therapy helps to ease the emotional side effects of eating disorders, such as obsessions and depression.
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Step 3
Keep in mind that for anorexia nervosa, drug therapy is typically used after the weight of the patient is under control, whereas with bulimia nervosa, the opposite is true. With bulimia nervosa, medications are administered to prevent destructive behavior such as binging.
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Step 4
Know that medications include antidepressants, antipsychotics and anticonvulsants.
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Step 5
Keep in mind that medication is frequently given to repair gastrointestinal problems caused by eating disorders.
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Step 1
Know this treatment has the patient in residential care around medical staff during the daytime only.
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Step 2
Understand that patients are monitored during meal times.
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Step 3
Keep in mind that patients return home at night.
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Step 1
Understand self-help treatments come from books and self-help groups in which patients get together to discuss their disorders.
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Step 2
Keep in mind that it is believed that self-help groups help lower relapse rates.
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Step 3
Know that self-help should not be used alone, as it is not effective for patients with advanced eating disorders. However, self-help books and treatment groups can be an effective tool to use in conjunction with medical treatment.
