ABSTRACT
This chapter details Phase 1 of CBT-T. It explains how we use food as the core intervention, both stabilising physiological status and exposing the patient to the anxiety that they normally avoid by using unhealthy eating patterns. We use an inhibitory learning approach to exposure, to ensure rapid and sustained effectiveness. This requires engaging the patient, as well as ensuring that clinicians’ own anxiety does not get in the way of treatment. The importance of weighing the patient in a specific way is also discussed, explaining how we can use the linkage of food intake/energy balance with weight in order to begin addressing the ‘broken’ cognitive link that characterises eating disorders. Clinical examples are used to illustrate these methods.
