Therapy Models for Treating Eating Disorders
The rationale for applying DBT to the treatment of eating disorders
(EDs) has been described comprehensively in the literature. The
rationale proposed suggests that alternative approaches are necessary
for eating disorders because current empirically founded treatments
(e.g. cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotheray) may
only be partially effective or ineffective for a select number of
patients. DBT can be considered a logical alternative because, unlike
other approaches, it is based on an affect-regulation model of treating
ED symptoms. Eating pathology (e.g. binge-eating, self-induced vomiting,
restriction, etc.) may now be understood as mechanisms to cope with
emotional vulnerability (Telch et al., 2000), as opposed to errors in
cognition or faulty interpersonal relationships alone ( Fairburn et al.,
1993).
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