Therapy for Relationships with Eating Disorders

The vast majority of adults with an eating disorder are married or in a committed relationship and report that the presence of a supportive partner is invaluable. Yet most therapists who treat eating disorders are not specifically trained to treat couples. Kim Lampson takes on this monumental task by educating and training clinicians in the highly regarded work of Gottman Method Couples Therapy as it applies to relationships where an eating disorder is present.
In Therapy for Relationships with Eating Disorders, clinicians will find what amounts to a college course covering the myriad factors that must be understood, empathized with, and worked through in order to balance the needs of each individual in a couple where an eating disorder is present, working toward helping the relationship become a protective factor.
Cleverly using several case examples to bring the training to life, the book covers competencies, first for the therapist and then for couples, to attain. From assessments to communication and preparing for inevitable turbulence, Lampson describes the details of dealing with issues beyond food, weight, and body image, covering restrictions on social life and struggles with intimacy and future planning which are ever-present in these relationships.
I've treated eating disorders for 45 years, written six books and served in a variety of capacities in the eating disorder field. I can say without reservation that Therapy for Relationships with Eating Disorders needs to be added to the library of every eating disorder clinician, whether they plan to do couples work or not. Firstly, because any eating disorder clinician will learn invaluable insights, gain resources, and discover interventions from this book to use with clients, whether they do couples therapy or not. Secondly, because all eating disorder clinicians are dealing in one way or another with how the eating disorder affects their client's relationships, and vice versa.--Carolyn Costin, MA, MEd, MFT, FAED, CEDS, director of The Carolyn Costin Institute and author of 8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder