TFCBT and CBT in Eating Diss / Mini Proposal

Determining the link between PTSD , eating diss and CBT treatment effectiveness

March 2008

Introduction

Increasingly more children are presenting with any of a range of eating diss including anorexia nervosa , compulsive eating , bulimia nervosa and binge eating , among others . What is also worrying is that the age at which children are affected by this life-threatening dis is decreasing . Eating diss have more commonly being associated with girls in the early stages of puberty or older women . Mehlenbeck (2007 observes that younger children , many below the age of 10 years old

, both males and females , are now presenting with these diss . This trend is worrying suggesting that the problem of eating diss is not dwindling but may be on the increase and spreading throughout other age groups in the population . It is estimated that well over one million males and 10 million females are affected by eating diss (NEDA as cited in Mehlenbeck , 2007 . These figures do not include the increasing population of younger boys and girls presenting with this dis

An understanding of the underlying causes of this dis is a necessary first step in designing effective solutions . Since the number of persons affected continues to increase it appears that current treatment options are either not effective or are not targeting the correct group of individuals

Statement of the problem

Not much is known about the causes of eating diss in young children . Without an understanding of the underlying cause of treatment the way forward will be hindered . Furthermore the existing treatment methodologies , though they have met with some success , are failing to contribute to a decrease in the population affected by this dis While a focus on effective treatment is encouraged , policies and programs also need to be designed to determine the underlying causes so that groups that are at risk can be identified early and proactive steps taken to prevent the continued spread of eating diss

Purpose of study

The purpose of the current study is to identify some of the factors that contribute towards eating diss in pre-puberty boys and girls under 12 years old . Further the researcher will attempt to determine the effectiveness of current treatment strategies in addressing this dis within this population . Thus the research questions that will guide this research are

What is the prevalence of eating diss in pre-puberty children between 7 and 12 years old

To what extent is CBT being used to treat eating diss in this population

What is the success rate of CBT in the treatment of eating diss in this population

Literature Review

Eating diss are characterized as psychological illnesses (Vaschenko , 2005 . Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT ) has been recommended for the treatment of a wide range of psychological diss . Its widely used due to the fact that several researchers have pointed to its success rate of over 80 percent (Geffken et al , 2004 ,

. 46 . CBT functions on learning principles from the behaviorist school of thought This procedure uses the two techniques of exposure and response prevention...