Eating disorders as psychosomatic illness the implications for treatment |
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Authors: | Julia Buckroyd |
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Affiliation: | Principal Lecturer in Counselling, University of Hertfordshire, Psychotherapist in private practice , 15 Fawnbrake Avenue, London, SE24 OBE |
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Abstract: | Abstract This paper describes a body of theory which points to the possibility that eating disorders can be seen as psychosomatic illness, which is to say a symbolization of affect via the body rather than with words. The author concludes from this that eating disorders may respond better to non-verbal experiential therapies than they do to verbal therapy. She then describes four years of work with groups of eating-disordered women using non-verbal experiential therapies and suggests that the improvement in their symptoms may be the result of these methodologies and that her hypothesis merits further testing and exploration. |
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