ABSTRACT
Chapter four is ideally divided into two parts. The first part describes the different phases of the treatment of juvenile anorexia defined by professor Nardone and his colleagues. Usually, this consists of three phases: first session, from second to fifth session, from sixth to tenth session, and from the tenth session onwards. The therapy starts with a session of high therapeutic impact, aimed at undermining the pathological patterns that support and nourish the juvenile anorexic disorder utilising specific reframing techniques associated to suggestive-hypnotic language. A reassuring and pleasant nutrition programme is negotiated with the patient. These steps are then formalised in a family action plan whereby parents are further empowered in assisting their daughter during and after meals. If the first session is successful in breaking the rigid individual and relational patterns that fed the disorder, its significant effects can be verified in the second session. For these reasons, usually from the second to the fifth session, the therapeutic goal is to stay on course and ensure that the girl regains, within the usual two months of treatment, the expected weight, while getting used to her new dietary balance. Therefore, the phase of the therapy from the sixth to the tenth session must focus on the patient’s self-image, on her relationship with others, and on the acquisition of interpersonal skills. Finally, from the tenth session onwards the final goal is to build the new psychological equilibrium of the young woman. The second part of the chapter describes in detail all the specific strategic manoeuvres added by the therapist to the different phases of the therapy when facing one of the variants of juvenile anorexia described in Chapter 3. These manoeuvres are tailored to the needs of the problem and to the features of the person in treatment and aim to reduce and then extinguish the specific compulsion characterising the different variants of the pathology.
