Here is a basic source of information on the dynamics of eating disorders, written by two therapists who have long specialized in treating them. Now expanded and updated, Bulimia/Anorexia is the third edition of Marlene Boskind-White and William C. White's highly successful Bulimia/Anorexia; The Binge/Purge Cycle. This accessible and empowering book provides important facts on adolescent danger signals, socialization and the family, the challenges of the college years, pros and cons of drug therapy, and nutritional counseling.
For the new edition, Boskind-White has expanded and updated the book (for example, there is new information on food, nutrition, and the physiological effects of eating disorders), and she has added four new chapters: "Anorexia Nervosa: Sociocultural Perspectives," "Intensive Psychotherapy with Anorexics," "Surviving Managed Care" (addressed especially to therapists), and a new last chapter, "Our Daughters, Ourselves." Boskind-White draws on twenty-five years of clinical experience to explain what causes eating disorders and what works best to help people combat and overcome them. She takes issue with therapeutic approaches that emphasize deep-seated problems and instead focuses on ways to strengthen positive attitudes and practical coping skills. With the dangerous "thin is never thin enough" message stilt pervading our culture, she discusses the persistent epidemic in eating disorders and the urgent need to give them new attention as a social issue, especially for women. In her chapter on managed care, Boskind-White details how she has adapted her practice to the new realities of cost-containment and walks the therapist through the specific steps needed to run a successful practice and provide the best care for the client. Boskind-White includes case histories of bulimic and anorexic women in their own words - sympathetic peer-group voices to encourage women who have begun treatment or are considering it. She also describes school and college programs that are finding new ways to help their students who have eating disorders.