101714: Removing the Mask

About the Course:

Webinar from the 2009 International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals Symposium.
Note: For this course there is a small additional fee to obtain the webinar. Please see the “Get Course Materials” link in the right sidebar for details.

Shame haunts many women and girls with eating disorders. Now, imagine the shame of an adolescent boy suffering from bulimia related to sexual abuse, or a once-chubby, but now skinny anorexic, boy. These young men are unlikely to discuss their secret concerns and behaviors because they have a “female problem.” Yet, despite the stigma, eating disorders are increasing in males. Research suggests that hundreds of thousands of boys have eating disorders. This presentation will explore causality and body image issues in eating disorder boys, as well as DBT, experiential, and multi-media based treatment.

Content Outline:
Cases involving boys with eating disorders can be traced as far back as the 1600s, yet it is not uncommon for modern healthcare providers to miss eating disorder symptoms in males. Evidence is mounting to suggest that at present there are hundreds of thousands of boys with eating disorders, suffering from what has been labeled a female problem. It is difficult to determine exact eating disorder prevalence in boys due to their tendency to hide internal experiences from themselves and others. But now it seems that the masculine mask is beginning to crumble under increasing societal pressure for boys and men to have an ideal body.
The male body has become an advertising tool. Boys are inundated with images of unrealistic male physiques, placing obese boys and those delayed in development at higher risk for eating disorders. Yet body image is only one piece of a boy’s eating disorder puzzle. Recent research suggests that boys with eating disorders have a negative self-concept and difficulty coping with emotion. They experience higher suicidal behavior than their female counterparts. Boys with eating disorders struggle with family and peer relationships and may be confused about their sexual orientation to a greater degree than average. With these many stressors, the typical male coping style seems to make matters worse by perpetuating the mask and hiding the shame that is felt.
For boys with eating disorders, just as with girls, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy coupled with Family Therapy appears to be the most efficacious course of treatment. However, core issues and body image concerns differ for boys, as do specific treatment needs and approaches. This presentation will examine these differences, including the unique roles of exercise and experiential treatments with eating disorder boys.

Author

Samuel A. Lample, MA, LPC (presenter)

About the Author:

Samuel A. Lample, LPC, is an Assistant Clinical Director of the Remuda Ranch child and adolescent programs for boys and girls. He has been a therapist in the eating disorder field for over 7 years. He has presented on eating disorders in the local school system, the university setting and to county-wide mental health providers. Focusing on children over the past few years afforded him the opportunity to co-author an article on parenting and limit-seting in ParentLife Magazine, September 2007. Mr. Lample has taken a particular interest in DBT skills with the eating disorder population.

Recommended For:

This course is recommended for health care professionals, especially psychologists, therapists, and counselors who seek to update their research knowledge and competency in treating patients with eating disorders, increase and acquire new skills, learn new intervention strategies, and obtain continuing education credits. It is appropriate for professionals at all levels of knowledge.

Course Objectives:

1. Following this presentation participants will be able to explain the unique presentation of male body image issues.

2. Following this presentation participants will be to utilize common athletic activities movie clips to facilitate therapy with eating disorder boys.

3. Following this presentation participants will be to identify prevalence and core issues associated with eating disorder boys.