Evolutionary Approach to Understanding and Treating Anorexia Nervosa and Other Eating Problems (eBook)

Shan Guisinger is an eating disorders therapist and researcher. Shan trained as an evolutionary biologist before getting a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in clinical psychology and doing postdoctoral work at the Yale University's Eating Disorders Clinic. In her research and practice, she seeks to understand how biological, psychological, and social factors interact to create or ameliorate emotional and eating problems. She has written about how chaos theory can help us understand the spontaneous patterning of evolution and our emotional and cognitive lives. Shan has authored theoretical articles on the interplay of individuality and interpersonal relatedness for The American Psychologist and on the evolutionary sense of anorexia nervosa for Psychological Review. She is coeditor and author of a recent book on some applications of chaos theory to psychology from Oxford University Press.

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Understanding and Treating Anorexia Nervosa: A Biopsychosocial Approach offers a new evidence-based intervention for anorexia nervosa that accounts for strange symptoms. The book provides an intervention that is more accurately tailored to the three phases (biological, psychological and social) of interventions observed in this disorder. The book's chapters walk the reader through motivational interviewing, dialectical behavioral therapy, and other clinical techniques to help tailor therapeutic work to specific challenges. Written by Dr. Shan Guisinger, a leading expert in the field, this book will be the main treatment guide for treating anorexia nervosa. Treating anorexia nervosa (AN) can be one of the hardest job clinicians face. People with AN fear eating despite being seriously underweight and experiencing hallucinations. Current interventions lack options to address such non-traditional symptoms ultimately resulting in relapse.Provides a structured and informed approach to cognitive behavioral therapies tailored to these specific conditions, offering clinicians and therapists valuable insights into effective treatment strategies.Empowers mental health professionals with a wide array of approaches, ensuring that they can adapt and tailor treatments to the unique needs of each patient.Offers a comprehensive guide to understanding and treating a range of eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and ARFID, all through an evolutionary lensEquips readers with a diverse toolbox of therapeutic techniquesDelves into the evolutionary underpinnings and provides a deeper understanding of the roots of eating disorders, enhancing the reader's capacity for empathy and insight into the complexities of these conditionsExplores the fascinating question of why teen girls might have been evolutionarily selected to search for better lands during famine