Principles Underlying Treatment Anorexia Nervosa is an illness that presents with weight loss and changes in eating habits.
Bulimia presents with a chaotic eating pattern of bingeing with vomiting.
Underlying both is a severe psychological illness with many features of emotional disturbance. Treatment is designed to reverse weight loss, normalise the eating pattern, and achieve stabilisation at normal weight, as well as encourage a healthy attitude towards food. At the same time the emotional issues, that have been suppressed by the illness, will emerge. The success of treatment will depend ultimately on the ability of the patient to cope with these difficulties and emerge from the grip of emotions that may, in the early stages of treatment, feel overpowering. We aim to provide a safe and supportive environment that makes it possible for our patients to experience these feelings and emotions without the protection of their eating disorder.