| Abstract: | Reviews the book, Coping strategies therapy for bulimia nervosa by David L. Tobin (see record 2000-07256-000). The book starts with a short introduction of the need for combination treatments and the obstacles therapists have to overcome in order to arrive at a cost-effective care for bulimic patients. The first part of the book provides a framework for coping strategies therapy (CST). The author reviews empirical and theoretical models of psychotherapy. This discussion is followed by an overview of CST, with short summaries of the different doses of therapy that are a central outcome of the author's work. The second part of the book is an elaboration of the details of the different doses of therapy: Dose 1 (problem engagement with a "remoralizing" aim; 1-2 sessions), Dose 2 (problem engagement with a "remediating" aim; 3-8 sessions), Dose 3 (emotion engagement with a rehabilitating aim; 9-20 sessions), and Dose 4 (problem and emotion disengagement with the aim of "rooting out the source of the disease"; 50-100+ sessions). Each dose is a separate treatment program designed for a specific bulimic patient group, and each has a specific aim and starts at a specific level of motivation for change. Basic aims for the author are to justify the broad range of activities on a theoretical and empirical basis, to organize those activities to help clinicians make rationally administered interventions, to provide a rationale for combining diverse interventions, and to build an informed basis that facilitates clinical care. These are far-reaching aims, and the reviewer thinks Tobin takes a large and interesting step toward a more integrative understanding and practical approach to the treatment of eating disorders. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
