Treatment Manual for Anorexia Nervosa; A Family-Based Approach

This practical manual offers a step-by-step guide to the treatment of anorexia nervosa in adolescents. Unique in its focus on mobilizing parents and siblings as a resource in treatment, the approach is ideal for short-term treatment and has demonstrated effectiveness in controlled clinical trials. Intervention is divided into three clearly defined phases. Using such innovative methods as a family meal, the clinician first learns strategies for helping families gain immediate control over the adolescent's eating behaviors. Once the patient accepts parental demands to eat, related family problems are addressed in the second phase. The third and final phase of treatment aims toward getting adolescent development back on track and establishing family relationships that do not revolve around the eating disorder. Featuring detailed guidelines for conducting each family session, the manual is illustrated with extensive clinical transcripts and vignettes.

Customer Reviews:

An Excellent Resource for Clinicians!

By Savvy Buyer - May 11, 2008

This is an excellent book for clinicians treating teens struggling with Anorexia. This model taps into the power of the family to successfully fight this horrible disorder. I also highly recommend Help Your Teenager Beat An Eating Disorder, a well-written guide for the clinician and an outstanding resource for parents!!

Excellent manual for evidence based approach

By Dr Stuart Jeanne Bramhall "Dr Stuart Jeanne B... - July 6, 2010

As a child and adolescent psychiatrist with more than 32 years experience treating anorexia nervosa, it's no exaggeration to assert that the Maudesley Model has finally given us a fighting chance of conquering this devastating disorder. It also happens to be the only approach that has a better track record than non-treatment in randomized controlled trials. Moreover now that a session by session manual is available, it becomes possible for psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and mental health workers with a family therapy background to deliver effect treatment to anorexic teenagers and their families - with minimal additional training.

The approach is very prescriptive - from the initial "intense scene" where the therapist informs the parents that their child has a fair chance of dying unless they both take a leave of absence from work to personally supervize all her meals - to the hard and fast rule that all famiy members participate in all sessions until the... read more

For Professionals I'm Afraid!

By HJ Dykstra - January 22, 2007

This treatment manual has an amazingly simple structure for such a complex problem. Keeping to the symptoms at hand, starting with what is attainable and streamlining the treatment are key-words in this book. Although purchased at Amazon, it actually is something for the professional setting though. Excellent book, something to recommend to therapists involved in the treatment of AN.