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Anorexia treatment makes a house call
New method to treat eating disorders gets families involved
By Allison Bailey
abaile19@mscd.edu

Photo by Molly Kreck • kreck@mscd.edu Daniel le Grange, Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago, speaks during an eating disorder conference at the Tivoli Turnhalle on Friday.

Mental health professionals and families of adolescents with anorexia nervosa gathered in St. Cajetan’s Center on the evening of Nov. 1 to discuss a new form of treatment for eating disorders called the Maudsley method.

The conference was hosted by the Center for Effective Intervention, which is part of the Human Services department at Metro. James Lock, an associate professor of child psychology at Stanford University, and Daniel le Grange, associate professor of psychology and director of the eating disorders program at the University of Chicago, spoke at the conference.

“I’ve been treating kids with anorexia nervosa for 15 or 16 years and about eight or nine years ago I read about this approach … I’ve become quite convinced that it is a very reasonable treatment for a lot of kids with (anorexia nervosa),” Lock said. “It’s effective for probably 70 percent of them.”

Lock said the purpose of the conference was to educate parents about the treatment approach so they can make informed decisions regarding their child.

Commonly known as anorexia, anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that is both a physical and emotional problem that can become life threatening, according to WebMD.

A person suffering from anorexia has a fear of gaining weight, limits the amount of food he or she eats and can become dangerously thin. Severe or long-term anorexia can lead to starvation, health problems and even death.

According to David Bernstein, director of the Center for Effective Intervention, Children’s Hospital is the only institution in the area that uses aspects of the Maudsley method.

“I don’t believe there is anybody who is doing exactly what Lock and le Grange do in the area,” he said, adding that Children’s Hospital and many other private therapists in the area are interested in using the method as part of their treatment.

After a brief explanation of the method, the doctors addressed questions from the 50 or so parents and professionals in attendance.

“You came here tonight to talk to us, rather than listen to us talk to you,” le Grange said.

Most of the questions were about the specifics of the method and how it works.

Developed at the Maudsley Hospital in England, the Maudsley method takes a family-involved approach to treating eating disorders rather than using more traditional methods.

Most treatment methods for anorexia call for hospitalization regardless of medical need and most keep parents out of the treatment loop. While a patient is institutionalized, professionals monitor their eating and weight gain.

On release the patient is responsible for maintaining a healthy weight and family members are usually not involved in that aspect of the treatment. Also, traditional methods focus more on mental causes of the anorexia, rather than treating the physical symptoms, according to Lock and le Grange.

Both said they had seen many cases in which patients gained weight while they were hospitalized, but lost most of that weight after release, causing a cycle of hospital stays.

In contrast, the Maudsley method only recommends hospitalization if it’s necessary for the immediate health or survival of the patient. Parents work closely with a professional to ensure that the patient eats properly and gains weight.

Initial emphasis is placed on treating symptoms of the illness – such as dangerously low weight – and addressing causes at a later stage in the treatment.

“When you look at the relapses that occur in the traditional treatment of the disease and the multi-hospitalizations, it is so good to see a treatment where you aren’t seeing that,” Bernstein said.

At the conference Lock and le Grange said that in three different studies of the method, 80 to 90 percent of the patients maintained weight five years later. No studies have been done past the five-year mark, they said.

However, the treatment must be employed with the supervision of a professional.

The Maudsley method keeps patients in their home environment, and parents use the same techniques to make their children eat as they do to make them do their homework, according to Lock and le Grange.

One parent at the conference suggested alternative methods of leverage, such as not allowing teenagers to get their driver’s license until they reach a healthy weight, or punishing children when they refuse to eat.

“It’s a simple thing, but not an easy thing,” the parent said.

Lock and le Grange compared anorexia to cancer. They pointed out that a parent would not quietly sit by if their child refused treatment for cancer and asked why anorexia should be treated any differently.

“There’s no difference between anorexia and cancer,” le Grange said. “Both kill.”