In Re-Thinking Eating Disorders: Language, Emotion, and the Brain, Barbara Pearlman integrates ideas from psychoanalysis, developmental psychology and cutting-edge neuroscience to produce a model of neural emotional processing which may underpin the development of an eating disorder. Based on clinical observations over 30 years, this book explores how state change from symbolic to concrete thinking may be a key event that precedes an eating disorder episode. The book introduces this theory, and offers clinicians working with these challenging clients an entirely new model for treatment: internal language enhancement therapy (ILET). This easily teachable therapy is explored throughout the book with case studies and detailed descriptions of therapeutic techniques. Re-Thinking Eating Disorders will appeal to students and practitioners working with this clinical group who are seeking an up-to-date and integrative approach to therapy.

Introduction -- The neurobiological contribution to understanding the development of an eating disorder neurobiological underpinnings of eating disorders -- A conceptual gap : current ideas in eating disorders and the need for a new treatment approach -- Filling the conceptual gap -- Proposing a new model of the mind in eating disorders -- Theory and practice -- The problem with CBT -- ILET therapy with "Emily"--Conclusions

Introduction -- The neurobiological contribution to understanding the development of an eating disorder neurobiological underpinnings of eating disorders -- A conceptual gap : current ideas in eating disorders and the need for a new treatment approach -- Filling the conceptual gap -- Proposing a new model of the mind in eating disorders -- Theory and practice -- The problem with CBT -- ILET therapy with "Emily" -- Conclusions

When Rebecca Lester was eleven years old—and again when she was eighteen—she almost died from anorexia nervosa. Now both a tenured professor in anthropology and a licensed social worker, she turns her ethnographic and clinical gaze to the world of eating disorders—their history, diagnosis, lived realities, treatment, and place in the American cultural imagination. Famished, the culmination of over two decades of anthropological and clinical work, as well as a lifetime of lived experience, presents a profound rethinking of eating disorders and how to treat them. Through a mix of rich cultural analysis, detailed therapeutic accounts, and raw autobiographical reflections, Famished helps make sense of why people develop eating disorders, what the process of recovery is like, and why treatments so often fail. It’s also an unsparing condemnation of the tension between profit and care in American healthcare, demonstrating how a system set up to treat a disease may, in fact, perpetuate it. Fierce and vulnerable, critical and hopeful, Famished will forever change the way you understand eating disorders and the people who suffer with them.

Do YOU WANT TO GET BETTER, but are afraid to let go of your eating disorder? After all, your eating disorder has defined who you are, has been a constant in your life, and has helped you cope and navigate your own world. To leave it behind would mean you wouldn't know who you are, how to act, or where to begin. Right? Wrong. According to renowned eating disorder specialist and bestselling author Ira M. Sacker, M.D., thoughts like these are due to something he calls the Eating Disorder Identity, which is a major road block in preventing you from getting better. In Regaining Your Self, Dr. Sacker introduces and defines this concept for you, explaining that in order to move away from the Eating Disorder Identity, you must transition to a new identity— the true self you were meant to be. The journey of finding out who you really are without your eating disorder begins here. Regaining Your Self offers you hope as well as hope to individuals, loved ones, and treatment professionals who are working toward freedom from the power of the eating disorders.

Do you think that you or someone you love may suffer from and eating disorder? Eating Disorders For Dummies gives you the straight facts you need to make sense of what’s happening inside you and offers a simple step-by-step procedure for developing a safe and health plan for recovery. This practical, reassuring, and gentle guide explains anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder in plain English, as well as other disorders such as bigorexia and compulsive exercising. Informative checklists help you determine whether you are suffering form an eating disorder and, if so, what impact the disorder is having or may soon have on your health. You’ll also get plenty of help in finding the right therapist, evaluating the latest treatments, and learning how to support recovery on a day-by-day basis. Discover how to: Identify eating disorder warning signs Set yourself on a sound and successful path to recovery Recognize companion disorders and addictions Handle anxiety and emotional eating Survive setbacks Approach someone about getting treatment Treat eating disorders in men, children, and the elderly Help a sibling, friend, or partner with and eating disorder Benefit from recovery in ways you never imagined Complete with helpful lists of recovery dos and don’ts, Eating Disorders For Dummies is an immensely important resource for anyone who wants to recover — or help a loved one recover — from one of these disabling conditions and regain a healthy and energetic life.