Eating disorders and posttraumatic stress: phenomenological and treatment considerations using the two-factor model.

The incidence and impact of eating disorders and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are both profound. Recent data have suggested, however, that a possible concomitance may at times exist between the two diagnoses. The purpose of this paper is to increase awareness of the possibility that a presentation of an eating disorder may not be an isolated phenomenon, and it may be diagnostically prudent for clinicians to assess for a history of trauma and/or current trauma symptoms. For a clinician treating both diagnoses concurrently, we suggest utilizing the two-factor model of PTSD, and its natural corollary of neuropersonologic therapy, as a reasonable conceptual and treatment model.