The incidence of two complex and serious eating disorders, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, has increased markedly during the last decade. Despite much research, there is still no consensus on the aetiology or treatment of eating disorders. It has been recognised that multiple factors of causation are Involved and a multidisciplinary team of various health workers, including occupational therapists, is needed for optimal treatment. The aim of this pilot study was to determine treatment approaches currently used by occupational therapists in some major centres in Australia. It was found that, while respondents believed that psychological issues, cognitive distortions, dysfunctional families and societal pressures were major causes of eating disorders, the preferred treatment approaches appeared to be based on cognitive-behavioural and occupational dysfunction models. Implications for occupational therapy, limitations of the study and future recommendations are discussed.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.