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A Controlled Study of the Effect of Therapies Aimed at Adolescent and Family Psychopathology in Anorexia Nervosa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

A. H. Crisp*
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, London
Kingsley Norton
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, The Henderson Hospital, Sutton, Surrey
Simon Gowers
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, Child Psychiatry, Academic Department of Psychiatry, University of Manchester
Christine Halek
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, Epsom District Hospital, Epsom, Surrey
Carol Bowyer
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, Epsom District Hospital, Epsom, Surrey
Denise Yeldham
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, Epsom District Hospital, Epsom, Surrey
Gill Levett
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health Sciences, St George's Hospital Medical School, London
A. Bhat
Affiliation:
Department of Mental Health Sciences, St George's Hospital Medical School, London
*
Department of Mental Health Sciences, St George's Hospital Medical School, Cranmer Terrace, London SW17 0RE

Abstract

Ninety patients with severe anorexia nervosa fulfilling DSM–III–R criteria were assessed in depth in terms of their family developmental psychopathology and then randomly allocated to either one of three treatment groups or to no treatment. In three treatment regimes, a behavioural approach to diet and weight gain was coupled with individual and family psychotherapy directed at the adolescent maturational problems. All three treatment regimes were highly significantly effective at one year in terms of weight gain, return of menstruation, and aspects of social and sexual adjustment. Body weights above those at pubertal onset were achieved for the group mean maximum and one-year follow-up weights for all three treatment groups but not the control group.

Type
Papers
Copyright
Copyright © 1991 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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