Eating disorders (Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorder) are very complex psychiatric conditions with serious complications. By the time people present, it’s usually after a long period during which the enduring pattern of disordered eating behaviours had set in. These behaviours are maintained by several significant factors within the family and with the patient themselves. At the time when families present their relative for treatment, the expectation is that it is just the person with the disorder that requires treatment.
Factors needing attention
Patient-related
- Nutritional counselling
- Psychological support to cope with weight restoration
- Psychotherapy to facilitate cognitive shifts that maintain disordered eating behaviours
- Psychiatric treatment of related co-morbidity conditions
- Restoration of previously neglected areas of functioning
Family-related
- Education about origins, course, factors maintaining the illness and requirements for recovery
- Family or couples’ therapy
All the factors above require seamless collaboration by multiple clinicians, a combination often challenging and quite expensive to access.
Contact LinkedCare for more details about your assessment and treatment.
Dr Nkokone Tema
Specialist Psychiatrist, LinkedCare Consortium
MBBCh (Wits), FCPsych (SA), Cert Child Psych (SA),
MMed Psych (Wits) PG Health Econ (UCT)