Ministry with Persons with Mental Illness and Their Families by Robert H. Albers & William H. Mellers & Steven D. Thurber & Editors

Author:Robert H. Albers & William H. Mellers & Steven D. Thurber & Editors
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Church work with the mentally ill, Mentally ill—Pastoral counseling of, Pastoral psychology
Publisher: Fortress Press
Published: 2012-01-08T16:00:00+00:00

17 Among the earliest and most fundamental works are Black 1982; Beattie 1987; and Woititz 1990.

6

Eating Disorders

William Yates / Diana Thierry

A parishioner named Mary called the pastor’s office asking for an appointment to speak about her daughter, Olivia. Pastor Jones, a recent seminary graduate, scheduled an appointment for a visit. At the visit, Mary quickly broke into tears, stating she was fearful that her daughter was suffering from the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. She described how Olivia, now fourteen years of age, had been losing weight over the last eighteen months. She refused to eat with the family, refused to discuss why she would not eat, and frequently avoided interaction with her family. Shy as a child, Olivia excelled in school and had never received a grade lower than an A. She was competitive and at times perfectionistic.

Pastor Jones had noted some of these issues with Mary during her participation in church youth activities. She frequently avoided eating in front of other youth. She seemed to be losing weight. When other youth members commented that they felt she was too “skinny,” she turned red and became tearful.

Mary said her daughter’s behavior was becoming a problem between herself and her husband. They argued about what to do about Olivia’s weight loss and refusal to eat. Her husband wanted to be more forceful and make her eat, while Mary thought this would just escalate the situation. Mary wanted to make an appointment with a child psychiatrist for Olivia, but her husband didn’t think much of psychiatrists and was adamant against the idea. Mary asked Pastor Jones, “What shall I do?”

Pastor Jones didn’t know for sure what to do about this situation. In seminary, he had a class on introduction to mental disorders, but there was no discussion about eating disorders. He came up with the following plan. He prayed with Mary, asking for God’s help and guidance in dealing with Olivia. He stated he had a pediatrician friend who might provide some recommendations about what to do. He asked Mary to return in three days and to bring her husband along if he would agree.18

Understanding Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are a group of mental disorders found predominantly in adolescent girls and in young women. The two primary diagnostic categories are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Both of these disorders share a predominant fear of being fat. Although being of normal weight is an important component of a healthy lifestyle, overvaluation of being of normal weight or below normal weight is a characteristic of those with eating disorders. They often demonstrate an intense phobia of gaining weight or looking fat. This phobia or fear often predominates their life. Eating, dieting, and weight issues take up an excessive amount of mental time, making it difficult to concentrate on other issues.

Figure 6.1 demonstrates some of the dynamic features of those with eating disorders. Eating disorders are not random in the population but appear to occur in those with a variety of genetic and environmental vulnerabilities or risk factors for the disorder.

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