Twiggy: A Family Therapy For Eating Disorders

In the US alone, roughly 8 million people, mainly women, suffer from anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is among the deadliest of the psychiatric disorders. Since the 1950’s, anorexia as a diagnosed disorder has increased 36% every five years since the 1950’s when it was first arriving as a recognized psychiatric disorder. British model “Twiggy” that came to the US in the 1960’s started the thinking that thin is okay. The overwhelming “thin is in” appearance is present in most media information geared towards females. From clothing to food choices, the underlying message is disturbingly poignant. As the many types of eating disorders started developing, and researchers understood more about each disorder, they realized that identifying the

In order to treat the eating disorder as it is a complex mental and physical disorder, one needs to simultaneously treat the underlying causes as well as the symptoms. Among the fairly successful treatments for anorexia and bulimia is a short-term one known as the Maudsley approach. The treatment uses a form of family therapy that enlists parents’ and siblings aid in helping their children to properly eat again. Early in this form of treatment, clinicians invite the family to share a picnic meal with their child. This creates a sense of family meal patterns. It also allows the experts to suggest ways parents can get the child to eat more. During weekly sessions, parents describe what they served their child, what they ate and what’s working well. This approach helps strengthen the child’s feelings of independence by gradually allowing them control of their own eating patterns and habits. When they are in the adolescence stage, clinicians also aid the family in learning the challenges of the adolescent developmental process and how better cope with these issues. Researchers say because this treatment relies mostly on outpatient treatment, it tends to be successful over the long-term. A study performed by Eisler and colleagues, found that

As autism was viewed as a form of a mental illness in the days it was first developed, it was logical to assume that autism was caused by an early trauma in the child’s life. This theory has been proven wrong, as more research has been done over the years to find the causes of autism. Freud also thought that autism could be caused by the “refrigerator mother” theory, meaning that mothers that are considered cold, emotionless, and detached, raise children in an un-caring and un-stimulating home during the early stages of development where social skills and language are usually developed. These mothers do not interact and stimulate their child’s learning, making this an underlying cause of