Research has shown CBT to be very effective in the treatment of a
broad spectrum of eating disorder symptoms. In this section I will address the following
questions:
What are the
different types of eating disorder diagnoses?
What are some
common symptoms of eating disorders?
How is CBT used
to treat eating
disorders?
How long does
CBT treatment usually last?
Are there any
additional resources that you recommend?
Most people are familiar with two types of eating
disorders:
Anorexia Nervosa
involves severe restriction of food intake (and sometimes, purging)
and severely disturbed body image.
Bulimia Nervosa involves binge
eating accompanied by some activity designed to compensate for the
binge eating, such as self-induced vomiting, laxative abuse,
diuretic abuse, excessive exercising, and/or strict dieting outside
of binge eating episodes. Body image disturbance is also a core
feature of Bulimia.
However, many people with eating disorders don’t
fit neatly into either of these categories, and are ultimately
diagnosed with Eating Disorder Not
Otherwise Specified (ED-NOS). People with
ED-NOS experience disturbed eating and its psychological
ramifications, but don’t meet criteria for a diagnosis of Anorexia
or Bulimia Nervosa. While ED-NOS is not a well-known diagnosis, it
is believed that 50-60% of individuals who seek outpatient treatment
for eating disorders meet criteria for ED-NOS. And ED-NOS can be
just as severe and impairing as Anorexia or Bulimia.
You may have heard of
Binge Eating Disorder (BED), in which
people experience episodes of binge eating without taking any
actions to compensate for these episodes (as they would if they were
diagnosed with Bulimia). BED is one form of ED-NOS.
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