Occupational Therapy with Eating Disorders: A Study on Treatment Approaches

Abstract

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.

Occupational Therapy in Mental Health: A Review of the Literature

“…Other themes in the literature were developing or specialised areas of practice for example methods of coping with tranquilliser misuse (Blank,1990); treatment approaches for people with eating disorder in Australia (Lim and Agnew, 1994); occupational therapy following major disaster (Roberts, 1995); theoretic principles used by occupational therapists in play therapy (Telford and Ainscough, 1995) and anger management (O'Neill, 1995a,b) These articles are valuable in alerting practitioners to developments in the profession and they supply a useful introduction to them, but they could indicate that occupational therapists prefer to diversify and extend the boundaries of practice rather than to justify and substantiate current practice.…”

Frames of Reference Utilized in the Rehabilitation of Individuals with Eating Disorders

“…Reasons O ccupational therapists' unique contribution toward the treatment of individuals with eating disorders (ED), is their combined knowledge of physical, interpersonal and psychological functioning (Barris, 1986;Giles & Chng, 1984;Lim & Agnew, 1994). However, the frames of reference and treatment approaches that occupational therapists implement have not been clearly established or validated.…”

“…However, the frames of reference and treatment approaches that occupational therapists implement have not been clearly established or validated. The team should include representatives from occupational therapy, psychiatry, medicine, psychology, nursing, nutrition, social work, and recreational, art and movement therapies (Giles & Allen, 1986;Harries, 1992;Lim & Agnew, 1994). The literature reviewed indicates that therapists are using a variety of frames of reference and treatment approaches.…”

“…The milieu on the general psychiatric wards was not conducive to developing specialized interventions (Giles & Allen, 1986). Due to the lack of occupational therapy research investigating the most effective frames of reference and treatment approaches, it would appear that occupational therapists are currently basing their multi-modal interventions on generalizations of others research (Giles & Allen, 1986;Lim & Agnew, 1994). Due to the lack of occupational therapy research investigating the most effective frames of reference and treatment approaches, it would appear that occupational therapists are currently basing their multi-modal interventions on generalizations of others research (Giles & Allen, 1986;Lim & Agnew, 1994).…”

“…A second study was conducted by Lim and Agnew (1994), to determine the current frames of reference and treatment approaches used by occupational therapists. Their descriptive study was based on Rockwell's (1990) research.…”