ABSTRACT
Chapter 10 continues to provide guidance on how to discuss the relational factors contributing to development and maintenance of and recovery from anorexia nervosa (AN). This discussion includes (a) the interplay between internal disconnections, negative relational images and meanings, and caregiver stress contributing to interpersonal disconnections; (b) how interpersonal disconnections can unwittingly perpetuate AN; (c) how relational images and meanings become our unconscious blueprint for future relationships and recovery or relapse; and (d) how functional analysis of AN can be used to increase perceived mutuality and strengthen connections with self and others. Chapter 10 provides an example of a negative relational image and its relational meanings and language for how to discuss these images and meanings with group members. It also includes a clinical vignette showing how the therapist helps a young adult and her mother in the “here and now” of the group to identify and alter a negative relational image and meaning, repair a disconnection associated with this image and meaning, and decrease the patient’s felt invalidation and aloneness. The chapter ends with language and a handout for how to describe the ABC model of functional analysis, as well as instructions for how to conduct small group work to practice engaging in it. Session 6 main goals, materials, and handouts are outlined.
