New research is finding that family therapist jobs are more effective at treating eating disorders, which is great news for those with Fort Lauderdale nursing jobs and other related healthcare professionals.
A recent study from the University of Chicago, Stanford University School of Medicine, and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford found that children suffering from anorexia benefit more from participating in family therapy than individual psychotherapy.
Anorexia is a disease in which people believe who believe they are fat use food restriction and exercise to maintain low body weights. The disease affects about .5 to .7 percent of all adolescent girls and kills one in every 10 patients.
"This research was desperately needed," said James Lock, MD, PhD, a lead author of the study, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford, and psychiatric director of the Comprehensive Eating Disorders Program at Packard, said in a statement. "Anorexia nervosa is a life-threatening illness, and it's really remarkable how little information we have about how to treat it. There are serious cons to not knowing what to do."
During family therapy sessions, professionals teach the patient's parents how to ensure their child eats enough food and does not overexercise, as opposed to individual therapy, in which professionals work to identify the underlying problems causing the patient's anorexia.
The study tested the effects of both types of therapy on 121 male and female patients between the ages of 12 and 18. Each patient's condition was evaluated at the beginning and end of their treatment, as well as six and 12 months after their treatment.
The study considered a patient to be in full remission after reaching 95 percent of their normal body weight. At the end of the study, 49.3 percent of patients were in full remission after undergoing family therapy, while only 23.2 percent were in full remission after taking part in individual therapy.
"Although both treatments were helpful to a proportion of patients, this study strongly suggests that as first-line treatment, in general, family-based interventions are superior," Lock said.
However, Lock added, it's important for professionals to keep in mind that the type of therapy that ultimately works best will always depend on the patient. While family therapy generally has better long-term results, some patients may benefit more from individual treatment.
"I would like clinicians to see that parents can be helpful," he added. "The model of putting kids in the hospital, which excludes parents, or of professionals expecting young adolescents to manage their own eating without their parents' help when they’re immersed in anorexic thinking, really should be reconsidered."
Comments