Eating
disorders and Addiction: Connections and
Implications
Practitioners who treat eating
disorders, as well as those who treat
substance abuse, need to understand the
implications of these co-occurring
conditions on each other. An awareness
of the highly significant relationship
between eating disorders and substance
abuse calls for the therapist's mindful
appreciation of the need for diagnostic
savvy, for concomitant attention in
treatment of these frequently
co-occurring disorders, and for
understanding the implications for the
recovery of one, or both, conditions.
Learning Objectives:
1. To discuss the significant rate of
co-occurrence of these addictions and
eating disorders.
2. To educate addiction counselors about
what to look for in assessing for a
typically hidden or hard to discern
diagnosis of an eating disorder.
3. To prepare addiction counselors to
manage the complexities of the dual
diagnosis.
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Psychotherapist Abigail H. Natenshon has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders with individuals, families, and groups for the past 34years. She is the author of When Your Child Has An Eating Disorder, A Step-by-Step Workbook For Parents And Other Caregivers, Jossey-Bass, 1999. Based on hundreds of successful outcomes, this book shepherds concerned parents step-by-step through the processes of eating disorder recognition, confronting the child, finding the most effective treatment for patient and family, and evaluating and insuring a timely recovery. A guide to eating disorder prevention, this book is useful to parents, health professionals and school personnel alike in countering the pervasive epidemic of unhealthy eating and body image concerns, and destructive media and peer influences. Her work can be reviewed further at www.empoweredparents.com and www.empoweredkidZ.com.
