- Title
- Bulimia Nervosa: a case study in cognitive psychotherapy
- Creator
- Kanfer, Josephine
- ThesisAdvisor
- Edwards, David
- Subject
- Uncatalogued
- Date
- 1990
- Type
- Master's theses
- Type
- text
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/192988
- Identifier
- vital:45287
- Description
- This project uses the case-study method to illustrate the application of integrating varied accepted modes of psychotherapeutic interventions. It concentrates on the first 22 out-patient sessions of therapy with a diagnosed bulimic, spanning a 6 month period. A brief summary of the subsequent 10 follow-up sessions is also given. The case presented is of a 22 year old female student diagnosed as bulimic (of 7 year duration), dysthymic and with a dependent personality disorder. She has symptoms of anxiety. She has a history of anorexia nervosa. Fairburn's (1985) cognitive-behavioural programme for bulimia was used initially. Its structured framework with the emphasis on the eating behaviour was an essential aspect in contributing to the success of the initial phase of the therapy. This patient had had previously experienced 8 sessions of non-directive depth psychotherapy which had confused and compounded her problems. The structure had provided her with a sense of control. In implementing the second stage of Fairburn's programme, where the focus is cognitive, the patient could no longer work in this this structured manner. The attempts to implement the standard cognitive techniques provided the catalyst for activating deeper underlying emotions and cognitions. Furthermore, this gave impetus to work actively with the interpersonal aspect of the therapeutic relationship. Young's (1989) model for identifying Early Maladaptive Schemas could be applied. The focus then moved from the behaviours and dealt with these schemas as activated in the therapeutic relationship. The patient was able to make links to her family and her past. The therapy proved successful, as not only were the behavioural symptoms alleviated, but also the patient's interpersonal problems which underlay her personality disorder were accessed. The patient had become more self-assertive, her mood had improved considerably, she was less concerned with body image and more accepting of herself. She had become more reality based and her interpersonal relational abi1ity had improved.
- Description
- Thesis (MA) -- Faculty of Humanities, Psychology, 1990
- Format
- computer, online resource, application/pdf, 1 online resource (83 pages), pdf
- Publisher
- Rhodes University, Faculty of Humanities, Psychology
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Kanfer, Josephine
- Rights
- Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
- Rights
- Open Access
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RU Department of Psychology
| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details | SOURCE1 | KANFER-MA-TR90-69.pdf | 1 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details |