Understanding the eating-disordered patient: engaging the concrete
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 14, 2026

A Treatment Package without Escape Extinction to Address Food Selectivity
Published on: August 21, 2015
1Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies, Adelphi University, Garden City, New York.
Abstract:
Anorexic patients typically present major obstacles when beginning psychotherapy, including a tendency to focus concretely on their food- and weight-related symptoms. The author seeks to clarify the meaning of this "concrete attitude" and presents a treatment approach that accepts the anorexic person's "limitations." The case of a 14-year-old anorexic girl illustrates how acceptance and understanding of the patient's concrete attitude, especially during the initial phase of treatment, can reduce the probability of a therapeutic impasse and can enhance the treatment process.
Related Concept Videos
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Role of Communication in the Nursing Process II: Planning and Implementation
Nursing Ethical Principles II
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's cancer...
Anorexia Nervosa
Symptoms and Physical Effects
Individuals with anorexia nervosa commonly exhibit extreme...
Bulimia Nervosa
Binge Eating Disorders

