What is psychotherapy
There are many definitions of psychotherapy. The difficulty in standardizing them may result from the fact that, as the famous psychotherapist Nancy McWilliams says, psychotherapy is not only science, but piece. One of the definitions intended to capture the essence of psychotherapy is the one created by Norcross. She describes psychotherapy as “the conscious application of clinical methods and interpersonal treatments derived from proven theorems of psychological sciencein order to accompany people in modifying their behavior, cognitive properties, emotions and other personal characteristics into those that seem desirable to the participants of this process ”(Norcross 1990 after: Czabała 2008).
Psychotherapy of eating disorders in practice
There are many factors that influence the success of psychotherapy. They include:
- Patient motivation
The patient’s motivation is very important when making a decision about psychotherapy. Contact with a therapist cannot be compared to a visit to a doctor, for example a surgeon who, under anesthesia, without the participation of the patient, will make him / her healthy, often in a very short time. On the contrary, psychotherapy requires a lot of determination, high degree of commitment patient. Nothing will happen “magically” without his personal involvement.
- Setting and trust
In psychotherapy, the therapeutic relationship between the psychotherapist and the patient is very important. It is important that it is based on trust, and that the patient comes to the office sense of security. This is created by setting – that is, defining the exact times and days of meetings. It is very important that psychotherapy takes place at least once a week. Otherwise, the therapeutic relationship for change will not develop.
- A long process
Not only in the case of people with eating disorders, but also any other mental disorder, the decision to start psychotherapy is a very important, breakthrough, but also often difficult moment in life. Eating disorder therapy may continue even a few yearsand the effects are not always noticeable quickly.
- Difficult moments in therapy
Psychotherapy is a process in which difficult moments, moments of doubt or even relapses of the disease. The above-mentioned factors may discourage people from using help, so it is very important to create a relationship with a psychotherapist that will ensure a sense of security, thanks to which it becomes possible to talk about your feelings, even the most difficult ones.
Is a cure possible?
Complete eating disorders recovery is possible. The most important thing is to start psychotherapy as soon as possible after noticing any disturbing symptoms. As eating disorders most often affect teenagers, it is crucial for parents to be alert and respond to disturbing symptoms.
In case of anorexia, hospital treatment is often used. Hospitalization is carried out until obtained desired weight. It also aims to introduce pharmacological treatment. However, achieving the optimal weight does not always mean ending the therapy. It is worth continuing after hospital treatment psychotherapy on an outpatient basis. It will help to maintain the effects achieved during hospitalization by looking at the psychological problems underlying the symptoms of the disease.
Definitions of psychotherapy based on: Czabała Cz. Healing factors in psychotherapy. Warsaw PWN, 2008.