What do you think?
Rate this book
Conversations with Anorexics
from Publisher's Weekly:
This posthumous collection of case material illustrates the treatment modality successfully employed by psychiatrist Bruch with patients suffering from the eating disorder of anorexia. Two of her associates at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston have edited this final work, taped by the author before her death in 1984. Bruch makes the reader privy to the therapeutic transaction between her patients who are in what she describes as "the relentless pursuit of thinness.'' Emphasizing the conversational ambiance of the therapy and discounting heretofore unsuccessful approaches of psychoanalysis and behavior modification, she helped her patients to heal. The dramatic dialogues in the cases presented allow us to hear these desperate young anorexic women individually explore their thwarted development, under the direction of a compassionate physician who guides them towards wellness.
from Library Journal:
Psychiatrist Bruch was a pioneer in developing psychotherapy for anorexia victims. Author of half a dozen books, her first work, Eating Disorders , appeared 15 years ago. She taped her interactions with clients, and these form the nucleus of this final book. Bruch's strength is her straightforward it is honest, simple, and effective.
This posthumous collection of case material illustrates the treatment modality successfully employed by psychiatrist Bruch with patients suffering from the eating disorder of anorexia. Two of her associates at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston have edited this final work, taped by the author before her death in 1984. Bruch makes the reader privy to the therapeutic transaction between her patients who are in what she describes as "the relentless pursuit of thinness.'' Emphasizing the conversational ambiance of the therapy and discounting heretofore unsuccessful approaches of psychoanalysis and behavior modification, she helped her patients to heal. The dramatic dialogues in the cases presented allow us to hear these desperate young anorexic women individually explore their thwarted development, under the direction of a compassionate physician who guides them towards wellness.
from Library Journal:
Psychiatrist Bruch was a pioneer in developing psychotherapy for anorexia victims. Author of half a dozen books, her first work, Eating Disorders , appeared 15 years ago. She taped her interactions with clients, and these form the nucleus of this final book. Bruch's strength is her straightforward it is honest, simple, and effective.
- GenresNonfiction
216 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
2 people are currently reading
41 people want to read
About the author
Hilde Bruch
14 books10 followersHilde Bruch was a German-born American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, known foremost for her work on eating disorders and obesity.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 4, 2023
Ce livre est le dernier qu'a écrit puis dicté Hilde Bruche avant son décès, il retrace quelques uns des schémas les plus marquants de ses séances de psychanalyse avec ses patientes anorexiques.
Cette écriture est à mi-chemin entre la technique pure et le fait de relater uniquement les faits ce qui en fait une lecture parfois fastidieuse mais très éclairante.
Cette écriture est à mi-chemin entre la technique pure et le fait de relater uniquement les faits ce qui en fait une lecture parfois fastidieuse mais très éclairante.
May 17, 2021
I didn't even get through two full chapters. This book is extremely outdated and operates under the assumption that every ED sufferer is a young, middle class white girl who's been hospitalized for being severely underweight. Fact: A very small percentage of ED sufferers are ever medically underweight, and only a small number ends up being hospitalized. She even talks about getting patients over 95 pounds so they'll be thinking more clearly - an admirable sentiment, if you're under 95 pounds. I'm a man who struggled with anorexia and bulimia for four years. I'm currently recovering, and yet I was never hospitalized. In fact, I received very little treatment because of stigmas this book perpetuates. I was medically underweight for a pretty short period of time. This book spreads good sentiment and is insightful IF you fit into the author's idea of who suffers from eating disorders. Don't waste your time reading it.
March 11, 2010
Bruch is the wise, kind, European therapist a lot of us would like to talk to. At times she reminded me of the doctor in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden. She was one of the leading authorities on anorexia.
Her idea is that the disease is rooted in patients’ lack of self esteem, and family dishonesty. Some parents who honestly feel they’re encouraging and sympathetic nevertheless convey to their daughters that the daughter’s experience of herself is not valid, that the daughter must constantly figure out how to be “good” rather than discover who she is or how she actually feels. These patients torment themselves by trying to second guess their parents to avoid their unspoken disappointment and are never acknowledged for their genuine self.
Some of these girls react with anorexia.
This book really resonated with me because of my relationship with my mother, who definitely wanted me to live up to the “good daughter” image she had of me and who didn’t want to know my true self or to deal with my doubts and problems. I think I didn’t go this way because I had enough self esteem to rebel openly: “You want me to be perfect? I’ll show you, I’ll fuck up first.”
Her idea is that the disease is rooted in patients’ lack of self esteem, and family dishonesty. Some parents who honestly feel they’re encouraging and sympathetic nevertheless convey to their daughters that the daughter’s experience of herself is not valid, that the daughter must constantly figure out how to be “good” rather than discover who she is or how she actually feels. These patients torment themselves by trying to second guess their parents to avoid their unspoken disappointment and are never acknowledged for their genuine self.
Some of these girls react with anorexia.
This book really resonated with me because of my relationship with my mother, who definitely wanted me to live up to the “good daughter” image she had of me and who didn’t want to know my true self or to deal with my doubts and problems. I think I didn’t go this way because I had enough self esteem to rebel openly: “You want me to be perfect? I’ll show you, I’ll fuck up first.”
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews