| The main objective of this dissertation was to create a psychoeducational workshop that serves as a medium through which parents of adolescent females can be educated and empowered about the prevention and treatment of anorexia nervosa. The workshop aims to reach parents of adolescent girls with sub-clinical anorexia, a pre-disease state in which individuals engage in behaviors highly predictive of clinical anorexia. Because the workshop targets parents of adolescents with sub-clinical anorexia, it is considered a secondary prevention effort.; The researcher designed a brief psychoeducational workshop that has several main objectives: to educate participants about anorexia nervosa, to educate participants about the role of the family in the onset, maintenance, and treatment of anorexia, to provide participants with basic coping strategies, to educate participants about the process of psychotherapy, to provide and distribute information and resources to participants, so as to facilitate access to and encourage participation in family therapy, and to provide a forum in which the parental voice can be heard.; Despite recruitment efforts directed at Bay Area schools, participant recruitment was largely unsuccessful. This result suggests that both schools and parents may not be willing to participate in a workshop led by an unfamiliar “expert” in a public setting. It also suggests that members of the community, such as teachers, may be more effective liaisons to parents. Nonetheless, the curriculum of the workshop remains relevant, and the need for secondary prevention of anorexia remains necessary. |
