Binge Eating Case Study Essay

The diagnosis that this client has is F50.8, Binge-Eating Disorder, which is, “recurrent episodes of binge eating” (DSM-5, 2013, p. 350). The reason why this specific diagnosis would apply would be that Andrea meets the diagnostic criteria for this disorder. This disorder is characterized by, one, “eating, in a discrete period of time (e.g., within any 2-hour period), an amount of food that is definitely larger than what most people would eat in a similar period of time under normal circumstances” (DSM-5, 2013, P. 350). Andrea applies to these specific criteria because when her binge eating began in college, she would eat a big breakfast, and then afterwards take large quantities of food to her dorm room, which she would consume over the new few hours.
The second criteria, which is “a sense of lack of control over eating during the episode (e.g., a feeling that one cannot stop eating or control what or how much one is eating)” (DSM-5, 2013, P. 350); Andrea would say that she did not feel control during her binge eating because she always believed that she would stop when she had finished whatever piece of food that she was eating, although this did not happen.
It is unsure without going into more depth if Andrea’s mother suffers from this disorder as well, since they had frequent arguments throughout her childhood and adolescence about her excessive eating and weight gain. When assessing this client, it is important to take all of this background into consideration when looking for and discussing different types of treatment options. Although Andrea has tried many types of “fixes” to her disorder, none of them have had a long-lasting effect. This is where the therapist has to look outside the box to find the most effective long-lasting form on