An Integrated Feminist Approach to Disordered Eating Intervention in a University Campus Outpatient Setting

Abstract

The incidence of clinically diagnosable eating disorders continues to rise amongst adolescent and college age adults. Contemporary research suggests that a complexity of factors contribute to eating disorders in women ranging from physiological and biogenetic to socio-cultural and family-based factors. This paper focuses on an intervention program that was developed for women, by feminist family therapists, in an outpatient campus setting. Clients were 30 undergraduate or graduate female students, ranging in age from 18–30. The majority of clients were heterosexual and Caucasian, 20% of the clients were women of color and women who identified as lesbian or in one case, transgendered. An integrated intervention approach coalescing around feminist principles is described and illustrated using a case study.