Treatment of anorexia nervosa in light of biological research and current feminist thinking

This dissertation attempted to set the stage for an emerging and more gradually accepted comprehensive treatment for primary Anorexia Nervosa (AN) which takes into consideration the following: the biological research which strongly suggests that an individual's weight and body size are genetically-based; that an individual's nutritional pattern has its source in early environment experiences; how an individual's psychological structure impacts on one's functioning; how westernized society puts pressure on women to strive for unrealistic weight and other body-related goals for their bodies; and how this combination of factors has lead to an increase in AN.;The developing feminist psychoanalytic perspective proposes a treatment for anorectics who have not responded to traditional treatments by addressing a combination of factors which contribute to the development of AN. The feminist psychoanalytic conceptualization of AN attempts to explain how, after genetics have set the stage, individuals can develop AN due to a combination of society's use of self-denial in women, repression of female psychosexual development and the devaluation of women in westernized society. Traditional conceptualizations and treatments considered and found limited included psychoanalytic, family pathology, biological and the hypothalamic dysfunction theories and single-mode treatments such as group therapy only or psychopharmacological treatment.