The treatment of anorexia nervosa.

The authors report on their treatment of 32 young patients with severe anorexia nervosa who had lost an average of 37% of their original body weight. The therapeutic approach, conceived to meet both the physiological and the psychological needs of the patients, was carried out in a psychiatric unit for adolescents in a general hospital and involved separation of the patient from his or her family, treatment of the malnutrition, individually planned psychotherapy, and concurrent work with the family. The importance of accepting the patient's uniqueness, maintaining long-term contact, and encouraging the patient's striving toward constructive growth and autonomy is emphasized.