Psychotherapeutic effects by audiovisual heteroconfrontation in a case of anorexia nervosa

After a short overview about the use of audiovisual methods in psychiatry and psychotherapy we present a single case study of a young woman suffering from anorexia nervosa. In a typical way the patient could not accept the idea that she had an emotional disorder and did not accept being admitted to hospital or to come as an outpatient to psychotherapeutic treatment. We used the method of audiovisual heteroconfrontation, i.e., she was confronted with the videotape of another patient suffering from the same disorder. After four sessions of confrontation she was extremely occupied with herself, she suffered more from her condition and was motivated to undergo psychotherapy. Finally, the process of heteroconfrontation is discussed.