The eating disorders anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa have assumed an increased importance over the past two decades, as clinicians and investigators have recognized their prevalence and alarming rates of morbidity and mortality. At the same time, great strides have been made in providing treatment for patients with these disorders. Future developments may be anticipated in seven areas: treatments, diagnosis, understanding mechanisms, prevention, the consumer movement, changing knowledge and attitudes of health professionals, and the public trust. In this chapter, we consider these seven core areas.
TREATMENTSTreatments for the eating disorders are hardly recognizable from 30 years ago. This is a consequence of real progress in clinical science. In the 1960s, it was common to have treatment for anorexia nervosa based on a long-term psychoanalytic model, which was ineffective, or on combinations of potentially harmful medications. Today, there is general acceptance of the value of nutritional restoration or stabilization before people with the disorder can meaningfully benefit from psychotherapy. The types of psychotherapy that are useful vary. Cognitive analytic therapy has been shown to be of benefit in anorexia nervosa (Treasure & Ward, 1997a). Work from the Maudsley Hospital (London, England) has documented the value of family therapy for young patients with restricting anorexia (Russell, Dare, Eider, & LeGrange, 1992). Older patients with anorexia or bulimia benefit from cognitive-behavioral therapy, but this has been much more carefully described for bulimia nervosa. This latter group has also been shown to benefit from interpersonal therapy (Fairburn et al., 1995