title: A Substance Called Food: Long-Term Psychodynamic Group Treatment for Compulsive Overeating.
abstract: Obesity has proven difficult to treat. Many approaches neglect to address the deep-rooted underlying psychological issues. This paper describes a psychodynamically oriented approach to treating compulsive overeating as an addiction. Common to all addictions is a compulsion to consume a substance or engage in a behavior, a preoccupation with using behavior and rituals, and a lifestyle marked by an inability to manage the behavior and its harmful consequences. The approach represents a shift away from primarily medical models of intervention to integrated models focusing on the psychological underpinnings of obesity. Long-term psychodynamic group psychotherapy is recommended as a primary treatment.
authors.affiliation: Group Process Research Institute, Vancouver, British Columbia.
authors.forename: Deborah C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.affiliation: Adjunct faculty at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, and the Group Process Research Institute.
authors.forename: Marcia S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Nickow
authors.affiliation: Clinical Associate Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine, St. Paul's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.
authors.forename: Ric
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Arseneau
authors.affiliation: Student Health Service at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and the Group Process Research Institute.
authors.forename: Mary T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Gisslow
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003192:Compulsive Behavior / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000628:therapy*; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D064889:Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic / Q000379:methods*