Mirror exposure therapy for body image disturbances and eating disorders: A review

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 ◽  
pp. 163-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor C. Griffen ◽  
Eva Naumann ◽  
Tom Hildebrandt
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Exposure Therapy ◽  
Body Image Disturbances ◽  
Mirror Exposure

Body Image Exposure

2019 ◽  
pp. 141-154
Author(s):  
Carolyn Black Becker ◽  
Nicholas R. Farrell ◽  
Glenn Waller
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Functional Assessment ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Treatment Intervention ◽  
Number Of Factors ◽  
Behavioral Features ◽  
Patient Will ◽  
Body Image Disturbances ◽  
Mirror Exposure

Body image disturbances play a central role in the development and maintenance of eating disorders and are maintained, in part, by body avoidance. Exposure-based strategies are effective in reducing the cognitive, affective, and behavioral features of body image disturbances. Mirror exposure is a body-focused treatment intervention that has amassed consistent empirical support in reducing body image distress. It is important to consider a number of factors when implementing mirror exposure, including the type of mirror exposure, how the patient should be dressed, and avoidance of excessive body checking. Functional assessment and collaboratively making decisions with the patient will address such issues in how to work with body avoidance (e.g., in relation to anxiety-provoking stimuli, such as mirrors and wearing “revealing” clothing items).

Body Image Disturbance in Children and Adolescents with Eating Disorders

2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanja Legenbauer ◽  
Pia Thiemann ◽  
Silja Vocks
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Adult Patients ◽  
Body Image Disturbance ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Cognitive Components ◽  
Adolescent Patients ◽  
Body Image Disturbances ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Image Component

Body image is multifaceted and incorporates perceptual, affective, and cognitive components as well as behavioral features. Only few studies have examined the character of body-image disturbance in children/adolescents with eating disorders. It is unknown whether body-image disturbances in children/adolescent with eating disturbances are comparable to those of adult patients with eating disorders. Body-image disturbance might differ quantitatively and qualitatively according to the cognitive developmental status and the age of the individual. This paper provides an overview of the current evidence for body-image disturbance in children/adolescents with eating disorders, and how they compare with those adults with eating disorders. Current evidence indicates that older adolescent patients show similar deficits as adult patients with eating disorders, in particular for the attitudinal body-image component. However, evidence for a perceptual body-image disturbance in adolescent patients, in particular anorexia nervosa, is not conclusive. Reliable statements for childhood can hardly be made because clinical studies are not available. Investigations of body-image disturbance in children have focused on the predictive value for eating disorders. Limitations of the current evidence are discussed, and future directions for research and therapy are indicated.

How Well Does Exposure Therapy Work for Eating Disorders?

2019 ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Carolyn Black Becker ◽  
Nicholas R. Farrell ◽  
Glenn Waller
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Exposure Therapy ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Controlled Trials ◽  
Treatment Protocols ◽  
Missing Element

This chapter provides an overview of the current evidence supporting the use of exposure therapy for eating disorders. Although further research is needed (because the existing research base is relatively small compared to large exposure literature for anxiety disorders), exposure is an effective approach for addressing key transdiagnostic features in eating disorders, including eating-related fear and avoidance, body image anxiety, compulsive body checking and avoidance, and binge-eating and purging behaviors. Results are drawn from a range of study types, from single case studies to large, methodically rigorous controlled trials. Importantly, several of the studies reviewed in this chapter showed that exposure was helpful for patients who had been previously unable to derive benefit from viable alternative treatments. Thus, exposure may offer a critical “missing element” in treatment protocols that have a reasonably strong evidence base and yet leave room for improvement in outcomes.

scholarly journals Towards a functional body: A novel approach to body image disturbances in eating disorders

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-70
Author(s):  
Juanita Gempeler ◽  
Maritza Rodríguez ◽  
Camila Patiño ◽  
Adriana Rogelis ◽  
Carolina Erazo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Body Image Disturbances

The Morphed Photographic Figure Scale: Creation and validation of a novel set of realistic female body stimuli

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Skinner ◽  
Helen Bould ◽  
Andy ◽  
Peter James Etchells ◽  
Ian Penton-Voak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Female Body ◽  
Rating Scales ◽  
Muscle Tone ◽  
Body Images ◽  
Rating Data ◽  
Body Image Disturbances ◽  
Female Bodies ◽  
Eating Disorders Examination

Research exploring how people with eating disorders or obesity perceive their bodies, and interventions targeting this rely on high quality figural rating scales. We present data on a new figural scale, the Morphed Photographic Figure Scale (MPFS). It comprises eight sequences of photographic quality images of female bodies varying from underweight to overweight. Each sequence is centred on a veridical photographic image of a female body, and we used image morphing techniques to produce a number of increasingly overweight and increasingly underweight versions of the same body. Morphing provides body images with highly realistic representations of changes in adiposity and muscle tone, and enables manipulation of body weight without introducing idiosyncratic variations in anthropomorphic features, which could impact judgments of physical appearance in unpredictable ways. All images were rated in an online study (n = 377) as underweight, overweight or neither. Within each sequence, rating data showed a clear rank ordering from underweight to overweight. Overweight participants were more likely to rate images as underweight, and less likely to rate them as overweight. Participants with a high level of concern about their own weight (measured using the Eating Disorders Examination Questionnaire) were more likely to rate images as overweight. We anticipate the MPFS will have application in a range of research domains, including assessment of body image disturbances, and the design of new interventions targeting body image.

The Meaning of Body Image for Women with Eating Disorders

1998 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josée L Jarry
Keyword(s):  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Clinical Observations ◽  
Body Image Disturbances ◽  
Function Expression ◽  
And Function ◽  
Meaning And Function

Objective: To propose a theoretical model accounting for the meaning and function of body image disturbances for individuals with eating disorders. This model departs from available conceptualizations of body image focused on attractiveness and emphasizes the role of body image preoccupations in the regulation of self-esteem and affect. Method: This model was developed on the basis of the author's clinical observations and the available empirical research. Results: Three main functions of body image are described. The first one, “affiliation,” consists of using one's appearance in the establishment of interpersonal relationships, both at the level of friendship and romance. The second function, “avoidance,” consists of using one's body image to avoid abuse, be it psychological, physical, or sexual. The third function, “expression,” consists of using one's body image to communicate to the self and others one's capacity for accomplishment or one's inner feelings of dejection. Conclusion: This model is designed to be a therapeutic tool within body image therapy. Body image therapy can be most effective when focused on the unique meaning of body image for each individual patient.

scholarly journals Dissociation and Suicidality in Eating Disorders: The Mediating Function of Body Image Disturbances, and the Moderating Role of Depression and Anxiety

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (17) ◽  
pp. 4027
Author(s):  
Yael Doreen Lewis ◽  
Shirley Kapon ◽  
Adi Enoch-Levy ◽  
Amit Yaroslavsky ◽  
Eliezer Witztum ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Mass Index ◽  
Eating Disorders ◽  
Body Image ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Depression And Anxiety ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Body Image Disturbances ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Moderating Role

In patients with eating disorders (EDs), elevated dissociation may increase the risk of suicide. Bodily related disturbances, depression, and anxiety may intervene in the association between dissociation and suicidality. In this study we aimed to examine the influence of bodily related disturbances, depression, anxiety, severity of ED symptoms, body mass index (BMI), and type and duration of the ED on the relationship between elevated dissociation and elevated suicidality. The study included 172 inpatients: 65 with anorexia nervosa restricting type, 60 with anorexia nervosa binge/purge type, and 37 with bulimia nervosa. Participants were assessed using self-rating questionnaires for dissociation, suicidality, bodily related parameters, and severity of ED symptomatology, depression, and anxiety. We found that dissociation and suicidality were directly associated. In addition, depression and anxiety moderated the mediating role of body image parameters in the association between increased dissociation and increased suicidality. Thus, only in inpatients with high depression and anxiety, i.e., above the median range, body image disturbances were found to mediate the association between dissociation and suicidality. ED-related parameters did not moderate these relationships. Our study demonstrates that in inpatients with EDs, increased dissociation may be significantly associated with increased suicidality, both directly and via the intervening influence of body image, depression, and anxiety.

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