The Current Editorial Submission

An Evolution of Eating Disorder Treatment

Mental health, especially eating disorders have become a huge concern, and there is an increasing
number of victims who suffer detrimental consequences because of a lack of treatment. This happens
mainly due to a lack of awareness of therapy or incompatibility with the techniques. Because of the
variation in perspectives and learning methods in patients, new techniques are required in order to provide
successful treatment to everyone in need. Through thorough research on cognitive behavioral therapy
(CBT) and dance/movement therapy (DMT) in relation to eating disorder treatment, an idea was proposed
to combine cognitive aspects of CBT and movement/body connection aspects of DMT. There are
professionals who believe that “ED is a challenging diagnosis where working with the body is essential
but also very challenging and takes skill and training to do” and therefore it would not be easy to create a
new method. However, this collaboration of techniques would provide a way to use the beneficial aspects
of both types of therapy in one method. There are current dance/movement therapists who work with the
body for eating disorder treatment, meaning there are professionals who have studied this skill, making it
possible to have this combination. A therapist would need to be trained in both fields, but the combination
would reach more people and work to prevent the increasing number of people in the world today who
suffer from this severe mental health condition and are not able to be successfully treated with the current
methods available. One cognitive behavioral therapist supported this integration by recognizing that
despite the traditional methods of CBT, “Eating disorder clients often are completely disconnected from
their bodies and also their bodies are a source of self-hatred so teaching an appreciation and connection
with their individual bodies is very important.”
Both cognitive behavioral therapists and dance/movement therapists were surveyed to inquire
about their familiarity with the opposite techniques, as well as their perspective on the proposal. While it
was found that therapists were not entirely familiar with the other practice, especially the newer aspects of
dance/movement therapy, upon survey, both fields were intrigued by the collaboration concept and
anticipated it to be influential for patients with this disorder. There were some obstacles presented through
the surveys about means for developing the new method, however, the data showed an overall consensus
of the potential of this proposal. Because of the anticipated influence, the concept could allow for the
development of a new type of therapy that would reach patients whom had previously been unsuccessful
with treatment, preventing the rise in fatal or grave conditions from untreated eating disorders. The spread
of the research will allow for heightened awareness of eating disorder treatment in general and the
incorporated techniques.

Quotes are taken directly from the responses from the data collection surveys.

Cassie Jeng
Class of 2019
G/T Independent Research I