The Social Construction of Anorexia Nervosa / Edition 1

by Julie Hepworth

Overview

Julie Hepworth locates contemporary discourses of anorexia nervosa within their historical context, showing how current practices continue to be influenced by medicine, psychology, ideology and politics. She demonstrates that anorexia nervosa must be considered within the political, social and gendered relationships that continue to contribute to its definition. The book presents the need for a new conceptualization of anorexia nervosa which would draw on the insights of discourse theory, feminism and postmodernism to create new understandings of anorexia nervosa within contemporary health care practices.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761953098
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	06/22/1999
Series:	Inquiries in Social Construction series
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.34(d)

About the Author

Dr Julie Hepworth is Lecturer in the Department of Public Health at the University of Adelaide, Australia.

Table of Contents

PART ONE: EARLY IDEAS ABOUT SELF-STARVATION AND ANOREXIA NERVOSA
From Religion to Madness
Religious and Medical Interpretations of Self-Starvation
The Late Nineteenth-Century Medical Discovery of Anorexia Nervosa
Early Social, Cultural and Feminist Theories of Anorexia Nervosa
PART TWO: HEALTH CARE WORKERS' CONSTRUCTION OF ANOREXIA NERVOSA
Constructions of Gender and Identity in Anorexia Nervosa
The Multiplicity and Diversity of Causes of Anorexia Nervosa
Clinical Treatments for Anorexia Nervosa
PART THREE: POSTMODERNISM, THE BODY, AND THERAPY: IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Anorexia Nervosa, Postmodern Readings of the Body and Narrative Therapy
Self, Psychotherapy and Participation in the Public Domain

Editorial Reviews

‘This brief and powerful book has very important things to say to a wider audience; to health care professionals, to therapists, and also to social scientists who deal with questions of femininity, the body, and poststructuralism' - Journal of Health Psychology

‘A readable book that contains simplified information of some complicated concepts. It will prove of benefit to those readers in the field of women and social studies' - European Eating Disorders Review

‘The concepts presented in this book are carefully argued, succinctly organized, and genuinely stimulating.... It provokes clinicians to think about treatment and the effect of diagnostic practices, it provokes researchers to ask different questions, and it provokes students to read beyond dominant and conventional texts. This is a timely and important publication that deserves to feature prominently in the ongoing study of anorexia nervosa' - Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology

‘This book is an intelligent, well-written and thought provoking addition to current literature on eating disorders' - Feminism and Psychology

‘For those working therapeutically with special interest in eating disorders the book is worthwhile reading broadening the contextual view in which a clinical approach is adopted' - Association for University and College Counselling Newsletter & Journal

From the Publisher