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Orthorexia: When Healthy Eating Becomes Problematic, Courtney R. Retzlaff

Counselor Education Capstones

Counselors must help clients differentiate between healthy eating and disordered eating. Thus, this review of the literature examines when healthy eating becomes dangerous, and in some cases, life threatening by comparing a condition known as orthorexia to identified mental health disorders. Orthorexia nervosa (ON) is defined as, “a pathological obsession with proper nutrition that is characterized by a restrictive diet, ritualized patterns of eating, and rigid avoidance of foods believed to be unhealthy or impure” (Koven & Abry, 2015, p.385). Orthorexia is not included in the current Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) as a disorder. Even so, …

[Introduction To] Treating Black Women With Eating Disorders : A Clinician’S Guide, Charlynn Small, Mazella Fuller

Bookshelf

The first of its kind, this edited volume provides in-depth, culturally sensitive material intended for addressing the unique concerns of Black women with eating disorders in addition to comprehensive discussions and treatment guidelines for this population.

The contributing authors—all of whom are Black professionals providing direct care to Black women—offer a range of perspectives to help readers understand the whole experience of their Black female clients. This includes not only discussion of their clients’ physical health but also of their emotional lives and the ways in which the stresses of racism, discrimination, trauma, and adverse childhood experiences can contribute to …

Sublime Hunger: A Consideration Of Eating Disorders Beyond Beauty, Sheila Lintott

Faculty Journal Articles

n this paper, I argue that one of the most intense ways women are encouraged to enjoy sublime experiences is via attempts to control their bodies through excessive dieting. If this is so, then the societal-cultural contributions to the problem of eating disorders exceed the perpetuation of a certain beauty ideal to include the almost universal encouragement women receive to diet, coupled with the relative shortage of opportunities women are afforded to experience the sublime.