Resolving Treatment Complications Associated with Comorbid Eating Disorders

Abstract

Eating disorders (EDs) represent an interesting challenge for the anxiety clinician. ED treatment often is viewed as a distinct specialty; thus, many anxiety clinicians have minimal background in the treatment of EDs. In addition, EDs often are difficult to treat even with extensive experience, and the substantial medical comorbidity and high mortality rate associated with them can make ED patients anxiety-provoking and ethically challenging for providers. Finally, individuals with EDs often are reluctant to disclose or change their ED behaviors. In this chapter we will (a) summarize findings on the co-occurrence of EDs in anxiety patients; (b) discuss how to assess for EDs in anxiety patients; (c) review empirically supported and promising treatments for EDs; (d) describe a case formulation approach for treating anxiety patients with comorbid EDs; (e) provide illustrative case examples using this approach; and (f) explore the issue of ordering of treatments for this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)