Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia: How to Help

Praise for the first edition:

"...this thoroughly researched and very detailed book provides the serious student of eating disorders with a great deal of useful and constructive information...it provides a complete picture of the individual sufferer's dilemma and notes the wide-ranging behavioural patterns that can occur in these conditions...The authors have made extensive use of their own experiences {of helping people recover} which help to illustrate their findings in a most straightforward and enlightening manner." - British Review of Bulimia and Anorexia Nervosa

"This brilliant book helped me and my family to see that the illness is so much more than an effort to control weight. Sharing the book could also provide you with an excellent channel of communication." - The Guardian

"...many therapists would benefit from reading this book. If more helpers treated their patients with the authors' degree of empathy and integrity, treatment of anorexia nervosa would take a huge step forward." - Society for the Advancement of Research into Anorexia

"...a detailed and comprehensive guide to theories of causation, intervention and therapy. It discusses methods of treatment, help, and self-motivation in this demanding field of psychology, medicine and counselling." - Nursing Textbook Review

This new edition continues the outstanding tradition of excellence for which Duker and Slade's Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia: How to Help is internationally recognised. Updated to meet contemporary concerns, this book is a 'must' for anyone who wants to do something practical about anorexia nervosa/bulimia.

Its unique contribution is the now widely acknowledged whirlpool theory which unifies the physiological and psychological aspects of the illness. This provides much needed alternatives for the helpers who are all too often drawn into coercing the sufferer to eat, which is psychologically destructive, or ignoring the physical aspects of the problem which can be dangerous. It also offers a basis for resolving continuing medical and legal dilemmas. To illustrate their approach, the authors draw extensively on their own research and many years of experience providing effective therapy. There is no other book that attends in such detail to the minute steps involved in leaving an anorexic/bulimic lifestyle behind.

As incidence of all forms of the illness continues to increase, this new edition is more relevant than ever.

Marilyn Duker is a specialist in the process of recovery from anorexia nervosa/bulimia. Over three decades, and with a wealth of experience in working with sufferers at every stage of the illness, she has integrated theory and practice to establish a unique therapeutic approach. She has provided courses for relatives of sufferers and training for a variety of professional groups, including teachers, pastoral workers, nurses, dietitians and GPs.

Roger Slade obtained his doctorate from the University of Bristol for his work on anorexia nervosa/bulimia and is also author of The Anorexia Nervosa Reference Book. One of the first to apply modern psychological research methods early in the 1970s, his original thinking is distinctive for its clarity and cohesiveness and continues both to inform and to inspire.