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Bulimia Nervosa

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Handbook of Behavior Therapy in the Psychiatric Setting

Part of the book series: Critical Issues in Psychiatry ((CIPS))

Abstract

Behaviorally, the essential features of bulimia nervosa are frequent binge eating and some form of purging or marked calorie restriction. Though it has only recently been identified as a distinct disorder, there is evidence that the condition has existed for some time. For example, the Greek physician Galen reported the disorder in the second century A.D., and in the mid-1800s French writers noted that bulimia occurred in diabetics (Stein & Laakso, 1988). Partly because of an article by Boskind-Lodahl & White (1978), in which they described a disorder they termed “bulimarexia,” interest in bulimia surged in the late 1970s. Most encouragingly, significant research progress has occurred so that much more is known about the essential psychopathology of the disorder as well as about the components of successful treatment.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, 44109, USA

    J. Scott Mizes

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Medical College of Pennsylvania at EPPI, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Alan S. Bellack Ph.D.

  2. School of Psychology, Nova University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

    Michel Hersen Ph.D.

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Mizes, J.S. (1993). Bulimia Nervosa. In: Bellack, A.S., Hersen, M. (eds) Handbook of Behavior Therapy in the Psychiatric Setting. Critical Issues in Psychiatry. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2430-8_16

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