ABSTRACT
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is among the most effective treatments for eating disorders. Indeed, it is arguably the best available treatment and is increasingly the standard against which other treatments are measured. CBT has many components but one of the most central is the definition, deconstruction, and reconstruction of attitudes, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors concerning the self, the value of thinness, and attainment of an “ideal” body shape and weight (Fairburn, 1997; see chapter 6). These interrelated attitudes, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors constitute a “schema.” Although the specifics of schema construction and maintenance vary from theory to theory, it is widely agreed that experiences in a variety of settings form the raw material for the cognitive processes that create, extend, and sustain the schema. As the schema is increasingly consolidated, it becomes a filter through which the person interprets new information and experiences so that schema-consistent material is highlighted (see chapter 6).
