Discussion: The Complexity of Eating Disorder Recovery in the Digital Age

Through this week’s Learning Resources, you become aware not only of the prevalence of factors involved in the treatment of eating disorders, but also the societal, medical, and cultural influences that help individuals develop and sustain the unhealthy behaviors related to an eating disorder. These behaviors have drastic impacts on health. In clinical practice, social workers need to know about the resources available to clients living with an eating disorder and be comfortable developing interdisciplinary, individualized treatment plans for recovery that incorporate medical and other specialists.

For this Discussion, you focus on guiding clients through treatment and recovery.

To prepare:

• Review the Learning Resources on experiences of living with an eating disorder, as well as social and cultural influences on the disorder.
• Read the case provided by your instructor for this week’s Discussion
• Psychiatry Online | DSM Library (waldenulibrary.org)
• What happens after treatment? A systematic review of relapse, remission, and recovery in anorexia nervosa | Journal of Eating Disorders | Full Text (biomedcentral.com)
• Behavioural eating disorders – ScienceDirect (waldenulibrary.org)
• From diagnosis to social diagnosis – ScienceDirect (waldenulibrary.org)

By Day 3

Post a 300- to 500-word response in which you address the following:

• Provide the full DSM-5 diagnosis for the client. Remember, a full diagnosis should include the name of the disorder, ICD-10-CM code, specifiers, severity, and the Z codes (other conditions that may be a focus of clinical attention). Keep in mind a diagnosis covers the most recent 12 months.
• Explain the diagnosis by matching the symptoms identified in the case to the specific criteria for the diagnosis.
• Explain why it is important to use an interprofessional approach in treatment. Identity specific professionals you would recommend for the team, and describe how you might best utilize or focus their services.
• Explain how you would use the client’s family to support recovery. Include specific behavioral examples.
• Select and explain an evidence-based, focused treatment approach that you might use in your part of the overall treatment plan.
• Explain how culture and diversity influence these disorders. Consider how gender, age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, and/or ethnicity/race affect the experience of living with an eating disorder.

Note: You do not need to include an APA reference to the DSM-5 in your response. However, your response should clearly be informed by the DSM-5, demonstrating an understanding of the risks and benefits of treatment to the client. You do need to include an APA reference for the treatment approach and any other resources you use to support your response.