Feeding and eating disorders (EDs) are severe mental illnesses. This chapter gives a concise overview regarding EDs, their diagnostic configuration, and comorbidity with other mental illnesses. Moreover, the focus included vulnerability and psychological aspects of EDs, with particular attention given to the impact of dysfunctional attachment dynamics and relational trauma on the onset of each type of ED. The chapter covers EDs such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED). Types of EDs also included those that are not present in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5), but are frequently found in clinical practice. Such disorders (e.g., bulimarexia or orthorexia) are symptomatological manifestations that require further investigation to clarify risk factors related to their onset and to shed light on their mechanism of action.

Accelerated experiential dynamic psychotherapy (AEDP) is an attachment-oriented, emotion-focused model of psychotherapy and trauma treatment. This chapter details the course of AEDP treatment for clients with active eating disorders (EDs). It uses vignettes and a transcript from a live therapy session to highlight salient concepts and illustrate AEDP interventions in action. AEDP is fundamentally an experiential model. AEDP uses two versions of the triangle of experience to conceptualize the process and the piece of work. The first represents what AEDP calls the client’s self-at-best, or the resilient self. The second represents what AEDP calls the client’s self-at-worst, or compromised self. At the beginning of treatment, AEDP interventions are focused on building safety and regulating anxiety so that core affect can surface. Metaprocessing is an essential element of any AEDP treatment process. It undoes our clients’ aloneness with dysregulating new experiences and helps them to metabolize them instead.