Acceptance and Change in the Treatment of Eating Disorders and Obesity

An excellent article which presents the cutting-edge in cognitive-behavioral approaches to the treatment of eating disorders and obesity. It covers new thinking about how to balance self-acceptance and behavior change as goals for treatment and provides a thorough overview of the available literature:

Wilson, G.T. (1997). Acceptance and change in the treatment of eating disorders and obesity. Behavior Therapy, 27, 417-439.

Recently it has been argued that the explicit focus on behavior change in behavior therapy must be complemented by recognition of the value of acceptance, and the importance of the relationship between these two treatment goals. The same dialectic is central to the treatment of eating disorders and obesity. Having made nutritionally sound and psychologically adaptive lifestyle changes, patients need to accept whatever shape and weight these changes produce. Treatment strrategies for overcoming obstacles to acceptance are discussed. These include education, the use of the therapeutic relationship, and cognitive restructuring. Acceptance is an active process of self-affirmation rather than passive resignation to an unhappy fate. It involves emotional processing as well as cognitive and behavioral change. The focus on acceptance and the empirical evidence on the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in promoting self-acceptance in patient with eating disorders contrasts with the treatment of obesity where the value of self-acceptance has received less research attention. Aside from being important in its own right, enhancing self-acceptance might lead to more lasting changes in health-relevant eating and exercise behavior.

Replies:

Appetite Awareness Training effective for Binge-Eating Disorder, by Jim Pretzer, 4/9/00 CBT vs Interpersonal Therapy for Bulemia, by Jim Pretzer, 03/19/01 CBT and IPT both effective for Binge-eating Disorder, by Jim Pretzer, 12/16/02

| Behavior OnLine Home Page | Disclaimer |

Copyright © 1996-2004 Behavior OnLine, Inc. All rights reserved.