Trauma and eating disorders

Streaming video - 2014

"The literature says that 30% to 40% of the patients who engage in eating disorder behaviors are, in fact, survivors of sexual trauma, and I believe another whole cohort of those folks have experienced other kinds of trauma. If you think about it, being 90 pounds or being 300 pounds is a very visible, tangible way to say, 'I'm in pain.'" Lisa Ferentz. Until recently, the focus of eating disorder treatment has been on getting the sometimes life-threatening symptoms under control. In the process, underlying trauma issues have often been ignored. Now, new treatment approaches are being developed that address trauma and eating disorders in an integrated fashion. In these videos, clinicians Lisa Ferentz, Mark Schwartz, J...eanne Folks, Carolyn Costin, Lori Galperin, Jane Blackwell, Melissa Kinser, and Richard Schwartz explore the special treatment issues that this dual diagnosis presents. The presenters emphasize the importance of working with the eating disordered part of self that encapsulates the trauma of the past. In addition, seven current or former clients relate how trauma and eating disorders have impacted their lives, and how they have worked to overcome those effects. more