Help for Eating Disorders: A Parents Guide to Symptoms, Causes and Treatments, by Debra Katzman and Leora Pinhas. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Robert Rose, Inc; 2005. 303 pages, $18.95 (paper)
Help for Eating Disorders: A Parent's Guide to Symptoms, Causes and Treatments is an excellent primer for parents and the public on basic understanding of this complicated set of diseases. The book is well-written and easy to read and understand. The book is intended to provide a broad range of basic topics for anyone interested in learning about eating disorders. Both men and women are highlighted as patients with eating disorders, and case studies are interwoven into several chapters to illustrate real-world experience with the diseases.
The book is broken down into 3 major sections: Diagnosing Eating Disorders, Treating Eating Disorders, and Family and Community Roles in Recovery and Prevention. Each of these sections provides a wide array of topics related to the major headings. The chapters are laid out in an easy-to-read format that allows the reader to quickly find a specific heading. Each chapter offers boxes in the margins with "Did You Know[horizontal ellipsis]." questions and answers that highlight useful facts about eating disorders. Charts and graphs are used judiciously. Checklists and worksheets are also provided to give practical information to a parent attempting to assess eating-disordered behaviors.
A variety of text boxes, coloration, and font changes are used to highlight specific information such as question/answer sections, helpful tips, and quick reference guides.
Case studies are included throughout the book, and, while these are quite helpful, they are continued in nonsequential pages. To follow the stories provided, the reader must jump from chapter to chapter.
The content of the book is accurate, and it serves as an excellent basic reader on eating disorders. Parents are the intended audience for the book, and, for that group, this work would be an excellent primer for providing a wide range of basic knowledge about eating disorders. The medical and psychological language used is fundamental, so the clinician might not find this book overly helpful.
There are several strengths to the work. The presentation of the information is excellent. The reader could easily find topic headings in the chapter for quick reference. The book is also comprehensive in its coverage of the many facets of eating disorders. However, there are 2 weaknesses. First, although the information provided in the book is accurate and well-researched, references supporting the facts are not made within the text. References are included at the conclusion of the book, yet they are not connected to specific chapters or selected information. Second, the case studies included in the various chapters are continued throughout the book but not in sequential pages. This makes it difficult to follow the case studies without having to flip over multiple pages and chapters to find the continuation of the story.
Given the fact that eating disorders are complicated diseases, this book would be very useful to the person looking to grasp basic knowledge and understanding of the diagnostic, treatment, and recovery processes. This book would serve as an excellent reference for a reader looking to learn more about an eating disorder.
Gayle M. Wells, PhD, MS, MEd
Assistant Professor of Health, Western Carolina University
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