Anorexia nervosa: the patient, her family and key family therapy interventions.

In a nation in which jogging, diets, and weight consciousness are so prevalent, it is easy to understand why middle class teenage girls want to become or stay thin. It is harder for us all to understand why some of these young women become so emaciated that they may die. We have tried to present information that will enable health care professionals to achieve a broader understanding of the clinical syndrome of anorexia nervosa and the family of the anorexic. Some key family therapy interventions that will enable the family system to become more adaptive to change have been highlighted and explained through the use of actual case material.