Eating Disorders

1
Eating Disorders

• Behavior Disorders
• EPC 695B

2
Three diagnoses in Eating Disorders Section

• Anorexia Nervosa
• Bulimia Nervosa
• Eating Disorders NOS

3
General Characteristics

• Onset of Eating Disorder is usually in teens.
• Usually encountered in girls and young women.

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Anorexia Nervosa (criteria listed on p. 589)

• Characteristics
• Refuses to maintain body weight at or above
  minimally normal weight
• Intense fear of gaining weight or being fat
• Disturbance in way one sees body - these clients
  see themselves as fat, despite their being
  severely underweight
• Absence of at least three consecutive menstrual
  cycles.
• Specify Type
• Restricting Type - At current time, client is not
  regularly engaging in binge-eating or purging
  behavior
• Binge-Eating/Purging Type - Client does engage in
  this behavior

5
Bulimia Nervosa (Criteria listed on p. 594)

• Characteristics
• Recurrent episodes of binge eating
• Prevents weight gain by self-induced vomiting,
  purging, and exercise.
• Clients do not have body distortion
  characteristic of Anorexia Nervosa
• Specify Type
• Purging Type Client regularly engages in
  self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives,
  diuretics, or enemas.
• Nonpurging Type Client uses other inappropriate
  compensatory behaviors, such as fasting or
  excessive exercise

6
307.50 Eating Disorder NOS (Criteria listed on
p. 594)

• Characteristic
• Disorders of eating that do not meet the criteria
  for any specific Eating Disorder.

7
The legacy of Karen Carpenter, the young pop
singer who died from anorexia nervosa, should
remind clinicians that the first goal in
treatment is always to

• KEEP the CLIENT ALIVE
• Beyond this, the goals are to
• Establish adequate nutrition,
• Treat physical complications,
• Correct abnormal eating habits,
• Supplant family over-involvement with more
  appropriate intrafamilial relationships,
• Enhance self-control, identity, and autonomy,
• Identify and begin correcting dysfunctional
  thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs, and
• Correct defects in affects and behavioral
  regulation.