ABSTRACT
Food refusal, as we have seen, is not a passive act but the outcome of much determination and resolve on the part of the anorectic woman. It is a refusal born out of a deep feeling of unentitlement to actual food and what it symbolizes: in other words, an unentitlement to what the environment in general has to offer, as well as to one's emotional life and one's own body. The goal of the approach outlined here is to enable the woman to have the best possible chance of living her life unafraid of food. Although this is a goal of successful therapeutic work, there is no sense in which it is wise to anticipate that the woman will be able to experiment freely enough with food to achieve this until well into the therapy. It will be important to convey the idea that each eating experience is an opportunity for experimentation rather than a signal of success or failure.
