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tijdschriftpersoonsgerichte
experiëntiële
psychotherapie
Process-oriented
Existential
Interactional
Integrative

Adolescents with an eating disorder: training to connect with thoughts, feelings, and the body

ARTICLEGeuzinge, Renate, Hardon, Bea, & Fleminger, Sonja - 46–1 (2008)

SUMMARY

Caused by a deficient emotional development, and by being extremely underweight or suffering from malnutrition, a lot of adolescents that suffer from an eating disorder are often not capable of recognizing their own feelings, let alone to differentiate between them. They are not, or very little connected with their body, and also have limited contact with people their age (the other). For this group of people we have developed a connection training, as part of a treatment program of the Cluster Eating Disorder Accare of the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Center of Drenthe. The course is part of the overall psycho-social training. It is given in a group, and teaches the youngsters the basic skills they need to connect better with themselves (thoughts, feelings, and body). Once that is achieved, they can learn how to better connect with the other. The training serves as a pre-therapy that is followed before or during other elements of the total gambit of treatments that are offered.

KEYWORDS

eating disorders, emotional differentiation, body awareness

The tPeP (Journal Person-centered experiential Psychotherapy) is the scientific journal for Dutch and Flemish psychotherapists, psychologists, and psychiatrists, that work from, or are interested in a client-centered perspective.