PSIHOTERAPIJSKI TRETMAN ANOREKSIJE NERVOZE U ADOLESCENTNOJ DOBI
PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC TREATMENT OF ANOREXIA NERVOSA IN THE ADOLESCENT AGE

Summary/Abstract: Eating disorders in adolescence are a serious public health problem, because their treatment is lengthy, complex and demanding, while the outcome is most frequently uncertain. The objective of this paper is to provide a short review of the current findings about the application and effectiveness of psychotherapeutic treatment of adolescents diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. Before treatment is implemented, it is necessary to carry out a psychodiagnostic personality assessment of adolescents with the purpose of determining a dominant psychopathology. It has been established that the most frequently used methods in the treatment of this disorder are cognitive-behavioural, dialecticbehavioural, family, psychodynamic, cognitive-analytic and group psychotherapy. The essence of all therapeutic approaches is primarily reflected in the changing of self-destructive behaviours which put life at risk. Considerable somatic complications demand active cooperation of psychotherapists with endocrinologists, internists and nutritionists. In accordance with their theoretical orientations, all psychotherapeutic treatments include specific mechanisms of change (cognitive restructuring, changes in interpersonal relationships, etc) which are determined in relation to the set therapeutic objectives. In certain cases it was established that psychotherapy can help alleviate and reduce the symptoms of comorbid disorders, with the symptomatology of the primary diagnosis of anorexia nervosa keeping its base. A majority of the current studies prove the effectiveness of family psychotherapy in treatment of anorexia nervosa in the adolescent age.

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