NEDA TOOLKIT for Educators
Mandometer Therapy Treatment program for eating
disorders based on the idea that psychiatric symptoms
of people with eating disorders emerge as a result
of poor nutrition and are not a cause of the eating
disorder. A Mandometer is a computer that measures
food intake and is used to determine a course of
therapy. Massage Therapy A generic term for any of a number
of various types of therapeutic touch in which
the practitioner massages, applies pressure to, or
manipulates muscles, certain points on the body, or
other soft tissues to improve health and well-being.
Massage therapy is thought to relieve anxiety and
depression in patients with an eating disorder.
Maudsley Method A family-centered treatment
program with three distinct phases. The first phase
for a patient who is severely underweight is to
regain control of eating habits and break the cycle of
starvation or binge eating and purging. The second
phase begins once the patient’s eating is under
control, with a goal of returning independent eating
to the patient. The goal of the third and final phase
is to address the broader concerns of the patient’s
development. Mealtime Support Therapy Treatment program
developed to help patients with eating disorders eat
healthfully and with less emotional upset.
Mental Health Parity Laws Federal and State laws that
require health insurers to provide the same level of
healthcare benefits for mental disorders and conditions
as they do for medical disorders and conditions. For
example, the federal Mental Health Parity Act of
1996 (MHPA) may prevent a group health plan from
placing annual or lifetime dollar limits on mental
health benefits that are lower, or less favorable, than
annual or lifetime dollar limits for medical and surgical
benefits offered under the plan.
Mia Slang. Bulimia or bulimic.
Modified Cyclic Antidepressants A class of
medications used to treat depression.
Monoamine Oxidase Inhibitors (MAOIs) A class of
medications used to treat depression.
Movement/Dance Therapy The psychotherapeutic
use of movement as a process that furthers the
emotional, cognitive, social, and physical integration
of the individual, according to the American Dance
Therapy Association.
Motivational Enhancement Therapy (MET) A
treatment based on a model of change, with focus
on the stages of change. Stages of change represent
constellations of intentions and behaviors through
which individuals pass as they move from having a
problem to doing something to resolve it. The stages
of change move from “pre-contemplation,” in which
individuals show no intention of changing, to the
“action” stage, in which they are actively engaged in
overcoming their problem. Transition from one stage
to the next is sequential, but not linear. The aim of MET
is to help individuals move from earlier stages into the
action stage using cognitive and emotional strategies
Nonpurging Any of a number of behaviors engaged
in by a person with bulimia nervosa in order to offset
potential weight gain from excessive calorie intake
from binge eating. Nonpurging can take the form of
excessive exercise, misuse of insulin by people with
diabetes, or long periods of fasting.
Nutritional Therapy Therapy that provides patients
with information on the effects of their eating disorder.
For example, therapy often includes, as appropriate,
techniques to avoid binge eating and refeeding and
advice about making meals and eating. The goals of
nutrition therapy for individuals with anorexia and
bulimia nervosa differ according to the disorder. With
bulimia, for example, goals are to stabilize blood sugar
levels, help individuals maintain a diet that provides
them with enough nutrients, and to help restore
gastrointestinal health.
Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD) Mental
disorder in which recurrent thoughts, impulses, or
images cause inappropriate anxiety and distress,
followed by acts that the sufferer feels compelled to
perform to alleviate this anxiety. Criteria for obsessive-
compulsive and related disorder diagnoses can be
found in the DSM-5.
Opioid Antagonists A type of drug therapy that
interferes with the brain’s opioid receptors and is
sometimes used to treat eating disorders.
Orthorexia Nervosa An informal term for a disorder in
which a person obsesses about eating only “pure” and
healthy food to such an extent that it interferes with
the person’s life. This disorder is not a diagnosis listed
in the DSM-5.
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