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I. How would one approach treatment of a psychological disorder? Mental health is a major
concern for modern medicine as it affects, on average during any one year, 15 percent of
the population (Taylor 196). While there are traditional effective methods for treating
mental health, newer, broader, and non traditional methods of care can widen the
opportunities for health for caregivers. Specifically with patients with eating disorders,
there are benefits to combining classic as well as less traditional treatments. Traditional
life. When the two therapies are used simultaneously, there is higher treatment success
for eating disorders because the approaches combine the best aspects of both to meet the
patients needs and solve obstacles that are introduced when using each individually.
II. Psychological disorders are very prevalent in our modern society, calling for effective
treatment methods to handle the variety of instances threatening lives around the world.
A. Eating disorders are a form of psychological disorder that are characterized by
irregular and damaging eating habits (“Eating Disorders” 1).
1. The most common types of eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia,
and binge eating.
2. While they primarily focus on body image, weight, and shape, eating
disorders are not just an issue with consuming food.
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III. As one of the most traditional methods regarding eating disorders, cognitive based
therapies work to help with treatment through active discussions between the patients and
the therapists.
A. This type of therapy focuses more on the verbal expression of feelings in order to
access the hidden feelings.
1. Because there is a need to adapt to different styles for different
individuals, there are many different branches off the umbrella concept of
cognitive based therapies (CBT).
2. However, all CBT works to incorporate discussion into the treatment
process for individuals with mental illnesses.
B. Family-based therapy (FBT), a historical cognitive-based therapy type, is still one
of the most common eating disorder treatments today.
1. This style is based off the incorporation of family into treatment sessions
rather than having one on one conversations between the patient and the
therapist and “has proven to be an important element in the treatment of
patients with eating disorders” (The Center 1).
2. Originally introduced as the Maudsley approach by Dr. Christopher Dare
and colleagues at the Maudsley hospital in London, this is a twelve month
outpatient program for individuals suffering anorexia nervosa.
a) The program works “through three clearly defined phases, and is
usually conducted within 15-20 treatment sessions” to ease the
patients into a calm and successful recovery (Le Grange 2).
b) These sessions include the therapist, the patient, and close family
members such as the patient’s parents.
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3. The idea is that family is a key aspect of therapy and will help with
treatment because the patient will have less feelings of being stranded,
alone, or interrogated.
a) It is important to have the family as part of the therapy because it
allows for another support system for the patient and gives a
familiar face to relate to during the sessions.
b) The structure of family-based therapy “considers the parents as a
resource and essential in successful treatment for anorexia
nervosa” (Le Grange 2).
4. Because of the eating disorder ability to skew judgement, it also works to
have someone close and personal with the patient to interpret
conversations or connect outside experiences that the patient themselves
might overlook.
5. It is beneficial since it allows the therapy to travel outside of just the
sessions and impact the patient towards recovery even when they are not
with the therapist directly.
C. Through discussion, cognitive-based therapies like FBT help patients to
rationalize patterns of thought and behavior that are influencing their life and
disorder.
1. Often times, an eating disorder will cause the patient to think or behave in
a certain way that can be dangerous, such as restricting calories so that the
patient has a difficult time maintaining body heat, or in females, the
disappearance of the menstrual cycle.
2. These patterns are generally recognized by the people in the surroundings
that are close with the individual, such as family members.
a) They are then able to show support and “come to discover how
changes in the way they communicate, manage conflict, or tolerate
negative emotions can aid in their loved one’s recovery (The
Center 1).
b) This way, not only is the patient recovering, but the family is
adapting to make it easier and better for the patient and everyone
else around them.
c) It is very beneficial to have the family incorporated in the sessions
to voice their observances and help to work together to progress
the treatment and discussions in a positive direction.
3. The therapist and family members can create a discussion to talk about
hidden thoughts and clear head space from irrational fear or anxieties
formed as a result of the eating disorder.
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1. Just by the act of openly discussing the issues surrounding their eating
disorder with people whom they trust and professionals, irrational and
harmful thoughts can be changed to more healthy habits.
2. The outside perspective helps to connect the puzzle pieces and show the
bigger picture to the patient about what is actually happening and the
consequences of their actions (“Talk” 1).
3. This can open a new window to why there is a need for change that the
individual could not view before and allow for a healthy recovery.
IV. In contrast to the more traditional and widely known method, dance/movement therapy,
also known as DMT, is a more recently developed physical and kinesthetic rather than
solely cognitive approach that builds off of the idea that physical activity can be used as
treatment for mental disorders (Scully 112).
A. This type of therapy works with the patient to reconnect the mind and body,
incorporating the body into the actual treatment activities.
1. “DMT is a bottom up approach,” stated Dr. Susan Kleinman, MA,
BC-DMT, NCC, CEDS in a personal interview on the 10th of December
2017, “we attune using movement and pick up what is actually going on
with the person on the body level” (Kleinman, Personal Interview 2).
a) “Bottom up” refers to working from the feet and body, moving up
towards the mind as the last connection (Kleinman, Personal
Interview 2).
b) Dance/movement therapy focuses on the connection to the body
that is necessary to have a positive relationship with oneself and
alleviate feelings of self consciousness.
c) This helps uncover what the body is feeling before the mind can
synthesize its thoughts.
2. There are many ways that dance/movement therapy is specifically
beneficial in eating disorder treatment, including establishing a stronger
awareness for oneself and others and using this to interpret one's
subconscious.
B. The most important building block of a bottom up approach to therapy is the
understanding of one’s self and those around them.
1. Dance/movement therapy works to make the patient more in tune with the
environment around them and aware of how their actions are affecting
others in their surroundings.
a) “By processes such as mirroring, contagion, and differentiation,”
humans are able to build the world around them by observing
others and making differentiations and decisions (Koch 63).
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V. Both family based therapy and dance/movement therapy have many benefits as eating
disorder treatments.
A. Each has been very successful in helping patients to recovery through their
individual methods. However, it would be much more successful if the two
therapies were used together for individuals suffering from this mental illness.
1. The cohesion of the two different methods would provide options for
treatment since people learn and improve in different ways.
2. Different treatments work better for different people, and this combination
would serve as another option for people to work towards recovery.
B. Even though it is sometimes difficult to combine ideas because of a difficulty in
compatibility, FBT and DMT would be able to work together because of their
common goals.
1. As both therapies work to uncover the internal source of each issue, “the
vantage point taken therapeutically in both verbal and nonverbal
modalities is the internal experience of the patients- an empathetic
perspective focused on emotions, perceptions, causal explanations, self
and body experience” (Krueger 323).
2. An easy incorporation is to add the FBT talk session following
dance/movement therapy activities.
a) As stated by Dr. Kleinman, dance/movement therapy already
incorporates a discussion time to talk about uncovered patterns as
they “pull things together at the end; that is the integration part,
there is a mix of verbal and nonverbal” (Kleinman, Personal
Interview 2).
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1. However, it also provides an insight into how the treatment rate is able to
improve in the future.
2. Additional treatment methods would only provide another way for this
treatment success rate to continue to increase, while decreasing the
number of individuals quietly suffering eating disorders in the world.
3. https://www.dropbox.com/s/3d62za8trox7o99/EDstats-infographic.jpg?dl
=0
VI. Therapy is more than countering bad eating habits. Therapy is a way for the individual to
leave in a better state than they entered: more connected with themselves and those
around them. Treatment can be very personal; it requires a strong understanding of what
the individual actually needs to work. Family-based therapy allows the patient to gain the
benefits of talking through their issues with the comfort of a professional and close
family members as support and an outside perspective on what is happening. This not
only allows for a way to talk out feelings, but also a way for the others to help explain
certain behaviors and patterns to the individual, reaching conclusions the individual may
not reach alone. One major part of this style is the patient’s intrapersonal exploration
within the company of family. Dance/movement therapy allows the patient to become
more connected with their own feelings and in sync with the emotional rhythm of the
evaluating the natural movements and patterns expressed during daily actions. Both types
of eating disorder treatments work very well for different situations with different
patients, some are more verbal learners, while others are more attuned to the bottom up
However, while these are both amazing options for a patient to consider, there might be
even better responses to eating disorder treatment by opening a new option that could appeal to
even more people. The personal aspect of treatment prevents the use of only a few styles since
everyone is going to need a slightly different way to cope with themselves. Combining
family-based therapy and dance/movement therapy would just provide another opportunity to
have therapy appeal as a successful method for more individuals suffering from an eating
disorder. Sometimes, those with this severe mental illness opt to avoid therapy because they
“don’t know a good therapist and wouldn’t know where to get one,” and this addition would
provide even more of a publicized assistance for patients (“17 Excuses” 2). The goal is to always
find ways to help as many people as possible; reaching out to everyone suffering and providing
the correct treatment. Better responses lead to higher success rates and less individuals that are
living their lives with eating disorders. While it seems like an unattainable goal to erase eating
disorders, with new and original additions to existing collection of treatment methods, there is
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Works Consulted
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Statistics Infographic.