Citation

Waller G, Corstorphine E, Mountford V. Eat. Disord. 2007; 15(4): 317-331.

Affiliation

Vincent Square Eating Disorder Clinic, Central and North West London Mental Health NHS Trust, and Institute of Psychiatry, King's College, London, UK. glenn.waller@iop.kcl.ac.uk

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/10640260701454337

PMID

17710569

Abstract

This paper addresses the clinical links between emotional abuse and the eating disorders. It is argued that the core feature of a range of abusive experiences is emotional invalidation. Emotional abuse is associated with problems in the development of emotional skills, manifesting as alexithymia, poor distress tolerance, and emotional inhibition. Cognitive-behavioral approaches are outlined for work with eating-disordered patients with a history of emotional abuse. As well as addressing the central concerns about eating, weight, and shape (using existing evidence-based methods), the focus of treatment is on addressing the conditional assumptions about the acceptability of emotions and the core beliefs that underpin the emotional difficulties.

Language: en