Anorexia Nervos A Case Study

Anorexia Nervosa is a psychiatric disorder that is most common in adolescence, the average age being seventeen years old. Anorexia Nervosa is more common in females with a female to male ratio of 10:1, and the numbers of those with anorexia nervosa are only increasing by the year. The Maudsley family-based treatment (MFBT) is considered to be the most effective form of treatment. There are two kinds of anorexia: restricting and binge eating or purging. Restricting is when a person does not binge or purge after eating on a regular basis, while binge eating or purging they do (Hurst et al., 2012). There are many health complications that can occur due to anorexia such as osteoporosis and bradycardia, anorexia nervosa can have a major impact on
MFBT does not focus on what causes anorexia or what causes someone to be predisposed to it. This means that treatment is not focused on discovering why they have anorexia, but rather on the solutions for treating it. Parents need to be involved in helping the child to beat anorexia, this comes from structural family therapy. There needs to be clear boundaries between the parents and the children to function in a healthy way (Hurst et al., 2012). MFBT pulls from systemic family therapy by having the family find the solutions, rather than the counselor. This lets the counselor have a neutral stance, and the family is seen as being the experts. For the most part, the family decides on what the specific goals are, although, eating normally and gaining weight are a must and they are non-negotiable goals of the MFBT treatment. The counselor would use questions and not be direct so that the family would be able to come up with their own ideas for solutions. MFBT is an intensive, outpatient treatment that has three phases. There are between twenty to twenty-four sessions over a period of one year (Hurst et al.,
It is exhausting and difficult to constantly have to care for someone and keep track of everything that they do, controlling what they eat and how much and when, etc. It is tough to stay on it, and stay motivated, especially when it can be such a long process. Therapists need to validate these feelings and give the family hope and encouragement. Another issue is that the individual needs to gain independence, but the person has to be temporarily dependent while in treatment, which can be confusing and difficult for the whole family to adjust to (Hurst et al., 2012). Parents are also scared of their child regressing, so the therapist needs to, again, validate and encourage them. Sometimes the individual does not gain enough weight in phase one which can be caused by many different things. Sometimes the parents need to join forces and act as a team, or extra support from the siblings are needed. It depends on how much control the parents have and are using, as well as how persistent they are being. It has been shown that MFBT is as effective in single parent families as it is in traditional families, but it might take longer. One parent may have limited resources, and so it can be much more difficult to do alone (Hurst et al., 2012).
The Maudsley-Based Family Therapy has been proven to be very effective for those who have anorexia nervosa. This therapy method does not originate from just one or two other methods, but several to