Abstract
The authors of this book have succeeded in putting together a resource that will be extremely useful to anybody working with patients with eating disorders. The book manages to deal with eating disorders in a sophisticated way, while still being pragmatic. The authors have correctly identified a large gap between standardized treatment protocols for eating disorders, and the reality of what clinicians often need to do in order to help patients get better. They also accurately recognize the complexity of many patients with eating disorders, and the implications of this for treating and managing these patients. For example, issues relating to comorbidity and motivation are thoroughly addressed. The book is comprehensive and broad in scope. Consequently, even experienced clinicians will learn something new reading this book. The scope of the book makes it suitable for all members of a multidisciplinary team, and it will help clinicians to provide more integrated care. In addition, sufficient depth and detail is provided about various strategies to enable less experienced clinicians to apply them in a more sophisticated way. Personally, I would have liked to see more links made between the research literature, and in particular the treatment outcome literature, and the what-to-do suggestions. However, the authors do refer the reader to reviews of this literature. Overall, I think that the book will be of interest and value to any clinicians working in the area of eating disorders.
Frances Carter
Christchurch, NZ
© 2007 Frances Carter