Diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa: Judy Jones, Aged

Diagnosis of Anorexia Nervosa:

Judy Jones, aged 14, has lost 30 pounds in the past year to an extent that she now weighs a very unhealthy 85 pounds. The primary care doctor attending to Judy Jones has ruled out physical causes and given her a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. As a result, Jones situation requires a proper analysis to understand the reason for her weight loss and its link to the physician's diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. One of the major processes used to examine these situations is cognitive-behavioral family therapy. The main focus of the article is to examine Judy Jones' condition through the use of Cognitive-Family therapy techniques and explaining the reasons for the use of these techniques in the case study.

Anorexia Nervosa:

Anorexia nervosa is described as a mental health disorder whose common symptoms include deliberate weight loss, intrusive overwhelming fears of weight gain, and disordered body image (Gardner & Wilkinson, 2011, p.175). This condition not only has a significant effect on a person's psychological functioning but also affects his/her physical health. Therefore, it's usually important to treat this condition at an early stage and effectively in order to avoid long-lasting effects. The need for early and effective treatment of anorexia nervosa has contributed to the development and evaluation of various therapy approaches to treat the condition.

In essence, patients with anorexia nervosa have always been attended to through the use of various types of treatment. The treatment method to be used is dependent on the individual's heart rhythm disturbance, psychiatric problems, electrolyte imbalances, and dehydration ("Anorexia Nervosa," 2012). Some of the most common methods used to treat anorexia nervosa include medical care, psychotherapy, restoring a healthy weight, medications, and hospitalizations.

Medical care is provided by a mental health provider who coordinates care through frequent assessment of the patient's vital signs, electrolytes, hydration level, and related physical conditions. However, the process sometime involves coordination of care by a primary care doctor in collaboration with other health care professionals. Under restoration of a healthy weight, the main goal of treatment is to get the patient back to a healthy body weight through working with a psychologist to develop appropriate behavioral strategies. This process may also involve working with a dietician who provides directions on a healthy diet to help the patient maintain healthy-eating habits.

While there are no medications that are specifically designed to treat this condition, antidepressants or other psychiatric medications help in treating mental disorders ("Anorexia Nervosa," 2012). Hospitalization is a treatment process that is used in cases of severe malnutrition, medical complications, ongoing decline to eat, and psychiatric emergencies to provide continual therapy and nutrition education.

Psychotherapy treatment may involve the use of individual therapy, family-based therapy, and group therapy. According to findings about the empirically-supported intervention for adolescents with the condition, family therapy, particularly family-based treatment is the leading means of psychotherapy. However, this treatment method has considerable limitations including the fact that its labor intensive and expensive. The other limitations of family-based treatment include its unacceptability to certain families and patients as well as the fact only 50% of patients who use this therapy make a complete treatment response.

As a result of the limitations of family-based treatment, Cognitive-Behavioral Family therapy is considered as an alternative. This consideration is attributed to its result in treatment for bulimia nervosa to an extent that it's regarded as the leading empirically supported treatment method (Grave, Calugi, Doll & Fairburn, 2013). Due to these significant results, Cognitive-Behavioral Family therapy has been adapted as an appropriate psychotherapy to nearly every kind of eating disorder such as anorexia nervosa. Actually, the National Institute for Clinical Excellence suggests that family interventions that directly deal with eating disorders should be provided to children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa.

Reasons for Using Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy in Jones' Case:

Since Judy Jones is an adolescent aged 14 years, her case qualifies for treatment through the use of family-based therapy, which has proven to be effective in adolescent patients with anorexia nervosa. Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy techniques are the most effective family-based treatment methods for this case because of various reasons. The basis for using these techniques is based on the assumption that Jones is no longer capable of making sound decisions regarding her health and requires help from the family.

One of the major reasons for the use of Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy techniques in treating Jones' anorexia nervosa is the ability of this method to overcome limitations associated with other family-therapy treatment techniques for eating disorders. As previously mentioned, this therapy method is not necessarily labor intensive, costly, and ineffective in promoting a patient's full treatment response. Moreover, the method has proven to be effective in treating bulimia nervosa, which is a condition with psychopathology overlapping that of Jones' condition. As a newly enhanced family-therapy treatment form, Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy treatment has been effective in producing sustained change in patients with significant weight loss due to eating disorders. Even though the effectiveness of this therapy in adolescent patients is yet to be established, it has been associated with positive outcomes in two cohorts of adult patients with anorexia nervosa.

Secondly, Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy techniques will be used in this case because the treatment method is an all-inclusive approach to any eating disorder regardless of the disorder diagnosis. This implies that the method uses similar treatment procedures for both adult and adolescent patients. One of the major processes used in this treatment is helping patients to change their perspective about their present condition and the procedures or behaviors maintaining it. A comprehensive evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages of dealing with the eating disorder then follows. The final step is to help patients regain weight and develop behavior-appropriate strategies (Grave, Calugi, Doll & Fairburn, 2013). As a result of its inclusiveness, Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy generates greater increases in BMI and better rates of menstruation resumption.

The third reason for the use of this treatment approach in Judy Jones' condition is associated with the duration of her condition. Generally, Cognitive-Behavioral Family Therapy approach is effective with long-standing anorexia nervosa for younger patients than for older and more chronic patients. Since Jones weight loss has occurred within a one-year period, her condition can be effectively addressed using this treatment method. This is primarily because of her age and the fact that it has not developed to a stage of acute illness or become a chronic disease. As a result of these factors, it will be relatively easier for Jones to regain her weight and make psychological enhancements through this treatment approach.