Abstract
BACKGROUND: Approaches to the treatment of body image distortion, a key symptom of anorexia nervosa (AN), focus on different components (perceptive, cognitive affective). The observation of massive disturbances in holistic body perception in adolescent female AN patients was the basis for the development of a disorder-specific body psychotherapeutic group therapy that specifically integrates aspects of body experience. OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of a body psychotherapeutic group therapy for adolescent AN patients and analysis of possible correlations with changes in perceptive body image. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 52 female AN patients (mean age 15.35 years) filled in the therapy assessment questionnaire for concentrative movement therapy (CMT)® in a group setting (in German: TBF-KBT‑G) at the end of the group participation. Body size estimations using the test for body image distortion in children and adolescents (BID) were compared at the beginning and end of the group participation. The correlations were used to examine associations between therapy evaluation and changes in body size estimations. RESULTS: The patients reported a positive relationship with the therapist, a positive group atmosphere, partly reported positive body-related experiences and deeper access to themselves using the CMT method. The AN patients overestimated their body size and this was unchanged on average at the end of group participation. Patients with positive body-related experiences tended to show improved body size estimation. CONCLUSION: Despite the focus on the aversively experienced body, adolescent female AN patients described experiencing positive relationships in the group and were partly able to take advantage of the CMT method. Disturbances of the perceptive body image appear to be relatively persistent, whereby positive body-related experiences tended to be associated with an improvement. Overall, these are encouraging results.