After tests and experiments, interpersonal psychotherapy is known to be one of the therapies that are fitting for binge eating disorder. It may not be the perfect therapy to adopt for depression or other eating disorders like Anorexia Nervosa, among others. Still, it is a recommended treatment by therapists for binge eating disorder.

This therapy is an adaptation of cognitive-behavioral therapy that has been in use since its transformation in the year 1993.

What is interpersonal psychotherapy?

In simple terms, interpersonal psychotherapy is the type of treatment centered on the relationship between an eating disorder (binge eating disorder) and interpersonal functioning.

The belief is that a solution to an eating disorder like a binge eating disorder is very much possible if therapists help the clients/patients see a relationship between the condition and their interpersonal functioning.

Before apparent results could be evident, patients with a binge eating disorder would go through three phases of therapy.

PHASE ONE

In phase one, the therapist responsible for helping the patient overcome their binge eating disorder has a lot to do. Phase one of interpersonal psychotherapy consists of about four sessions. All of which are introductory sessions.

First session

The first session encompasses the therapist’s ability to explain the essential things to note about interpersonal psychotherapy. In addition, the therapist explains the reason for using this method of therapy for the binge eating disorder.

In many cases, the ability to explain in express terms what the psychotherapist means and the therapy’s usefulness helps the client see the reason and is an excellent way to begin healing.

At this session, the clients know that it is necessary to address triggers and processes that contribute to the disorder’s continuity. In addition, those patients with eating disorders are people who suffer from interpersonal difficulties.

Some interpersonal difficulties like the patients’ view about their shape and weight have ways of causing damage and triggering disorders like binge eating disorder.

To help the patient understand the concept of their issue, the therapist should help the patient view their problems through their interpersonal relationships. So, of course, it is best to get as personal as possible.

Second session

In this session, the therapist helps the patient identify the interpersonal problems and allows the patient to focus on specific interpersonal issues to begin to think of the befitting solution to this problem. To get the information above, you can adopt any of these methods as a therapist trying to help a patient overcome a binge eating disorder.

• • Assess the patient’s interpersonal relationships as you speak to them; their social network, environment, and others are aspects of their interpersonal relationship that a therapist ensures are checked before suggesting any therapy to the patient interest in food intake with consequently reduced caloric intake or reduced ingestion of sufficient nutrients
• • Then, the therapist checks for every stage of change that the patient has experienced and is currently experiencing

The patients continue to like the above sessions until the fourth session. Sometimes, suppose the diagnosis is fast, the third session, whatever session the therapist chooses to stop. In that case, the therapist must have detected the nature of the patient’s interpersonal problems, difficulties, and, of course, how these difficulties relate to their current eating disorder (Binge eating disorder).

The interpersonal problems that the therapist is likely going to find present in the patient include the following:

Lack of intimacy and interpersonal deficits

When patients do not have people close to them or have had no close friends or family for a while, they tend to suffer from eating disorders. Some of the major problem areas concerned with binge eating disorder include lack of intimacy, absence of great relationships, and love.

Interpersonal role disputes

If essential figures in patients’ lives, like parents, grandparents, and partners, are not available for them, they generate a daily dispute and conflict toward them.

This, among others, can be a huge interpersonal problem that the therapist wants to test in his patient suffering from a binge eating disorder.

Role transitions

When there is a drastic change in patient’s life, and changes like moving away from their home, changing their jobs, or school are evident in their lives are evident in patient’s lives, they can be considered severe problem areas when trying to detect interpersonal problems.

Grief

Loss is consequential and is not something that many people react to in the same way. However, it may not be familiar to a particular age group. It is still not totally out of character for therapists to consider grief as a problem area.

Considering the relationship between their loss and the behavioral pattern that the patients have exhibited since the loss is a great way to begin; it will help patients face their feelings and tackle how the loss has affected them head-on. Doing all of these means that patients move forward in time and learn to forget the past even as they move forward into a new, promising future.

Life goals

It is also a wise thing to envision the possibilities of the problems that will happen in the future. It is a great way to check out their aspirations and hope for the future. Whether it is one or two, identifying the problem areas is an excellent way to proceed to the next phase.

PHASE TWO

After identifying the patient’s problem areas, although the therapist will still be with the patient, the healing journey continues with advice and reassurance at intervals.

The treatments commonly used, IPT – ED, always comprise of the following; decision analysis, experimental techniques, communication analysis, and clarification, among other forms of methods that they can use.

The patient needs to change into someone he/she can be proud of and into someone the therapist can also be proud of while they both navigate the techniques and treatments in use.

PHASE THREE

After about two weeks interval, in which patients practice the techniques that have been suggested in phase two and agreed between the patient and the therapist, the process can then be canceled.

Cancellation of the whole process should only happen because changes are palpable in the patient and the interest to continue in the new path is evident.

Phase three is the concluding stage, and the goals include:

• • Ensure that the changes continue
• • Ensure that there are no tendencies that patients will go back to their vomit