A study covered by Reuters Health has shown some effectiveness for family therapy for bulimia in adolescents. A specially designed, semi-structured, family-based, therapeutic approach was developed as a treatment for an adolescent with bulimia, and the results showed that up to 39% of people struggling with the eating disorder improved.

At the end of treatment, 39 percent of the 41 patients who participated in family-based therapy were completely abstaining from bulimic behaviors, compared to 18 percent of the 39 patients who underwent psychotherapy. Six months later, 29 percent of patients in the family therapy group were still abstinent, compared to 10 percent of those in the psychotherapy group.

I think this shows some real promise for adolescents in particular, but I would imagine there often being some strong resistance, particularly if there are other large scale family issues involved. Hopefully this becomes more widely available for people that are looking for something like this.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 11 Sep 2007
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.