Music Therapy

and Eating
Disorders
Christie McKernan, MT-BC
Duquesne University
Eating Disorders:
History, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatments
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Types of E.D.
Anorexia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa
Binge-eating disorder
Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified
(EDNOS)
Varies by persondifferent levels, symptoms,
and severity.
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History of Eating
Disorders
Before the 1970s, most people had not heard
of anorexia nervosa
In the Victorian Era, it was seen among the
middle and upper-middle classes
Was known to physicians around the 1870s
Bulimia has been seen since ancient
civilizations, in which people would purge
during meals in order to consume more
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http://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/08/style/anorexia-it-s-not-a-new-disease.html

Statistics on E.D.
40-60% of elementary school girls are
concerned about their weight
Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any
psychiatric disorder
Rise in incidences of anorexia in young women
in each decade since 1930
Incidences of bulimia in 10-39 year old women
TRIPLED between 1988 and 1993
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Not a Statistic, but a
telling sign
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Symptoms/Consequences of
Anorexia:
Symptoms
Inadequate food intake, intense fear of weight
gain, self-esteem overly related to body image,
inability to maintain healthy body weight
Consequences include:
Muscle loss, weakness, fainting, fatigue, hair
loss, osteoporosis, abnormally slow heart rate,
high risk for heart failure
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Symptoms/Consequences of
Bulimia Nervosa
Symptoms
Episodes of bingeing and purging, feeling of
being out of control, self-esteem based on body
image, calluses on hands/knuckles from self-
induced vomiting, withdrawal from friends
Consequences:
Inflammation of esophagus, tooth decay,
electrolyte imbalance leading to irregular
heartbeats, possible heart failure, death
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Psychological
Contributors
Low self-esteem
Feelings of inadequacy or lack of control
Depression, anxiety, anger, stress, loneliness
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Interpersonal
Contributors
Troubled personal relationships
Difficulty expressing emotions or feelings
History of bullying based on weight or size
History of sexual or physical abuse
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Social Contributors
Cultural pressure
Narrow definitions of beauty
Discrimination
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Treatment
Multidisciplinary team
Goals include:
stabilizing medically
helping patient to stop destructive behaviors
AND
Addressing and resolving any coexisting mental
health problems that could be triggering the
behavior
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What is Music
Therapy?
A brief introduction
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History of Music Therapy
Considered as having healing
properties since the beginning of time
Use of music in hospitals during WWI
Eventually led to the creation of the
American Music Therapy Association
(AMTA)

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Source: History of Music Therapy AMTA website
World War I
Ivories
A group of soldiers at varying levels
of injury huddles around a piano in
a hospital.
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Source:
http://longstreet.typepad.com/prints_for_paws/2014/02/world-war-i-ivories.html
Definition of MTx
Music Therapy is the clinical and evidence-based
use of music interventions to accomplish
individualized goals within a therapeutic
relationship by a credentialed professional who
has completed an approved music therapy
program.

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In Relation to E.D.
Lucys Story
Applicable to many different levels of care and
recovery
Often, people who have failed outpatient
therapy do so because they either cannot use
words, or use words extremely well as a
defensemusic can be used to move past
these defenses to connect with deeper issues
through symbolism and metaphors.
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MTx Interventions
Lyric Analysis
Songwriting
Song Sharing
Guided Imagery
Drumming
Solo Work
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Remember the Tin
Man by Tracy Chapman
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So again, why MTx?
Addresses many different psychological,
social, and physical needs
Can be used with a variety of mental disorders,
which aids in the comorbidity rates of EDs.
Comfortable form of expression
Addresses the earlier stated contributors
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Sources:
Lawson, C. (December 8, 1985). Anorexia: Its not
a new disease. The New York Times. Retrieved
from
http://www.nytimes.com/1985/12/08/style/anorexi
a-it-s-not-a-new-disease.html
Heiderscheit, A. (August 2009). Music therapy and
eating disorders. AMTA-PRO. Podcast retrieved
from http://amtapro.musictherapy.org/?p=252
www.musictherapy.org
www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
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