The Care Treatment Interventions for Anorexia and Pica

Peer 1 Chieyka
This is a well-researched article on anorexia nervosa. You describe the disorder, look at the neurotransmitter systems involved in the disorder, and describe the care treatment used in intervention. One interesting finding is the neurotransmitter system does not process the information of feeling full, primarily because of a lack of nutrition. This is interesting as the parts of the brain impacted are the frontal lobe that connect with the basal ganglia (APA, 2013; Wilson, 2013). Cognitive behavioral therapy can be used to treat this issue, which is also interesting because this is basically a method of care that involves identifying negative triggers and then working on responses to those triggers that can help one achieve a particular goal. But what can be done if the patient is not interested in the therapy? Pharmacological intervention can be implemented, but I might suggest a supportive therapy—something like animal-assisted therapy or music therapy to help with the cognitive behavioral therapy, as these have been found to be supportive when implemented in conjunction with the main CBT.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Section II: Feeding and Eating Disorders. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5 (5th ed.). http://dx.doi.org.10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Wilson, J. F. (2013). Biological basis of behavior. https://content.ashford.edu
Peer 2 Christopher
Pica is an interesting disorder and one I have never heard of before. Good job researching it; you provide a lot of information for me to look at. I started wondering if I was suffering from pica—does candy count as a nonfood substance? I feel like I am constantly munching on junk food, which I think should probably be called nonfood—but I guess pica is probably something that is not even ordinarily associated with eating. It is an interesting disorder for sure, but I would like to know more about the neurotransmitter system involved in pica. I sensed that it had something to do with dopamine and serotonin levels released in the brain when engaged in the act, so I am wondering to what extent pica is associated directly with other mental or personality disorders. I am willing to bet it often occurs as a co-morbidity. As the APA (2013) notes, however, that pica can indeed occur alongside schizophrenia or autism, so that is also important to keep in mind. As far as care treatment goes, I would be wary of SSRIs even though they are recommended by Barton & Salama (2008)—just because I have done research on SSRIs and their impact on mental and emotional health is worrisome to me.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Section II: Feeding and Eating Disorders. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5 (5th ed.). http://dx.doi.org.10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596
Barton, B & Salama, C (2008). An update on Pica: Prevalence, Contributing cause and treatment. Eating Disorders, Anxiety, Comorbidity in Psychiatry, Cultural Psychiatry. Psychiatric Times. Vol 25 (6) https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/eating-disorders/update-pica-prevalence-contributing-causes-and-treatment/page/0/3 (Links to an external site.)