Antonella Leonelli

Family relations and eating disorders. The effectiveness of an integrated approach in the treatment of anorexia and bulimia in teenagers: Results of a case-control systemic research

This article presents the results of a broader clinical research into the effectiveness of integrated treatments in teenage eating disorders, carried out at the Complex Operative Unit of Psychotherapy (Unità Operativa Complessa or U.O.C.) of the Department of Psychiatric Sciences and Psychological Medicine in collaboration with the Department of Neuropsychiatric Science for Child Development (Dipartimento di Scienze Neuropsichiatriche dell’Età Evolutiva), both at the “La Sapienza” University of Rome. The hypothesis of this research project is that in diagnosticable situations such as anorexia or bulimia, an integrated and multidisciplinary treatment, which combines medical-nutritional interventions and family psychotherapy, allows better results than a single kind of treatment, which is the usual medical- nutritional intervention supported by psychiatric counselling. Twenty-eight cases (16 of bulimia and 12 of anorexia) were selected and then subdivided, with a randomized distribution, into two (experimental and control) homogeneous groups of 14 patients. The grouping variables were the diagnosis, the disorder’s seriousness and duration, BMI, gender, age, family composition and social status. The variables which have been examined in this article are the clinical parameters, which were valuated in accordance with the DSM IV-TR criteria, and relational parameters which were explored through the use of the W.F.T. Test (Wiltwyck Family Tasks). These parameters were tested at beginning as well as at the end of the therapies, in both the experimental group and the control group. Statistical analysis has shown that the experimental group, which was followed with the integrated treatment, experienced a significant improvement of the parameters as related to dysfunctional family interaction modalities, and that this improvement was correlated to the positive evolution of the clinical parameters. This improvement was not present or not of the same degree in the control group. The results, moreover, demonstrate the effectiveness of an integrated systemic treatment based on a complex approach compared to a reductionist approach.

Un approccio sistemico ai disturbi di panico. Protocollo di una ricerca sperimentale

Il presente lavoro discute la dimensione psicopatologica dei disturbi di panico (DP) e ne approfondisce gli aspetti legati alla ricerca clinica. Propone, poi i DP in una prospettiva sistemica come fenomeni complessi, analizzandone le componenti socio-culturali, individuali e familiari. In ultimo viene proposto un progetto di ricerca dedicato ai DP che valuta l’opportunita di un approccio integrato, tale intervento viene confrontato con l’usuale intervento psicofarmacologico.

I disturbi dell'adolescenza in una prospettiva sistemica

Adolescence deseases in a sistemic perspective - In this article the authors show the systemic approach to the adolescence disorders. In particular they put on evidence the family relational dynamics and the identity process of the adolescence inside the family life cycle. We can see the emergency of the symptoms in adolescence as a stop in the family life cycle. The authors recognize in this process not only the dimension of the cycle phase but also the connections with the family history and the social culture. Key Words: Adolescence, Systemic Approach, Identification Process, Family Life Cycle.