ABSTRACT
Working with anorectics has become imbued with a certain aura. Because the hallmarks of anorexia are so neatly definable – much more so than is the case in general in a therapist's case-load – anorectics come to be classified or thought of in a particular way. This chapter provides the psychotherapist an overview of the medical implications that arise from anorexia. It addresses physicians working with anorectics. Palmer's extensive discussion of the hormonal aspects of anorexia provides a useful summary of current hypotheses about changes that anorexia effects in central nervous system functioning. Food preferences of anorectic are not respected, indeed in some treatment programmes the patient's fear of food is dealt with by 'feeding' her up with calorie-rich drinks, bypassing solid food altogether. The general parameters of a residential treatment programme for anorectics would require, first, the recognition on the staff's part that anorectics have rights like all human beings and that their 'illness' does not render them incompetent.
