Helping People with Eating Disorders

Bob Palmer is Honorary Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Leicester, UK, where he spent much of his career as an NHS clinician and consultant psychiatrist. Over the last 40 years, he has become a leading figure in the field of eating disorders and has been involved in innovative research, clinical practice, education and administration. He is a recipient of Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Academy for Eating Disorders and Beat, the UK eating disorders charity. He is also the author of numerous articles and the author or editor of several books.

About the Author vi Preface to the Second Edition vii

Preface to the First Edition viii

1 What are the Eating Disorders? 1

2 Who Suffers from Eating Disorders? Who Asks for Help? 25

3 What Causes Eating Disorders? 42

4 Thinking about Eating Disorders 70

5 What is Involved in Recovery from Eating Disorder? 84

6 Assessing People with Eating Disorders 93

7 What Helps People with ‘Bulimic Disorders’? 123

8 What Helps People with Anorexia Nervosa? 158

9 Unusual Eating Disorders 202

10 What May Go Wrong? 215

11 The Organising Services for People with Eating Disorders 241

References 260

Index 287