International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis - E-Lib FK UWKS

14
International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis. Edited by G. D. Burrows, R. O. Stanley, P. B. Bloom
Copyright # 2001 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
ISBNs: 0-471-97009-3 Hardback); 0-470-84640-2 Electronic)
Eating DisordersÐAnorexia
and Bulimia
MOSHE S. TOREM
Northeastern Ohio Universities College ofMedicine, USA
INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW
A review of the recent literature on eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa
and bulimia, reveals a remarkable silence on the utilization of hypnosis as a
therapeutic tool. It is evident, for example from the book chapters by Walsh 1997)
and Yager 1994), as well as journal articles devoted to eating disorders such as that
of Doyle 1996), and a whole issue of the Psychiatric Clinics of North America
edited by Yager, 1996) that includes 13 scienti®c articles on eating disorders. In
this special issue, to my surprise, the subject of hypnosis or guided imagery is not
even mentioned as a viable option in the treatment of eating disorders. The
publications that have appeared in the past decade on the ef®cacy of hypnotic
techniques in the treatment of eating disorders are not even mentioned or cited; the
subject of hypnosis does not exist in this special issue. This phenomenon re¯ects a
level of ignorance on this subject reminiscent of the old adage `The eye sees only
what the mind is prepared to comprehend'; in this case, modi®ed to `The traditional
doctor writes only about what his mind is prepared to comprehend.' Nevertheless,
the effectiveness of hypnotic interventions in patients with eating disorders has
been recorded in the literature over and over again since the time of Pierre Janet
1907, 1919).
Numerous publications have pointed out the usefulness of hypnosis in the
treatment of patients with eating disorders. Vanderlinden and Vandereycken 1988,
1990) provide a comprehensive and excellent review of the literature on the use of
hypnosis with eating disorders. Janet 1907, 1919) described how by using hypnotic
techniques he was able to change the patients' dissociative, ®xed ideas about eating
and their body image, and to promote a general mental synthesis. Janet also used
cognitive restructuring techniques that were successfully augmented by hypnosis.
The hypothesis that many patients with eating disorders may suffer from dissociative
episodes, has been supported by the research of Pettinati, Horne and Staats
1982, 1985), as well as by Council 1986) and Torem 1986a, 1990). These studies
International Handbook of Clinical Hypnosis. Edited by G. D. Burrows, R. O. Stanley and P. B. Bloom
# 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd