Black Women with Eating Disorders: Clinical Treatment Considerations

By: Charlynn Small and Paula Edwards-Gayfield

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Synopsis: A guide for eating disorder clinicians to support Black clients with the quality, trauma-informed care they deserve. Too often, Black women with eating disorders go underdiagnosed, overlooked, and unheard. Not only do they face barriers to treatment due to unjust healthcare systems, but the unique factors that contribute to the development of eating disorders in Black women—including racism and systemic oppression—are not broadly considered by eating disorder clinicians. This book adds much-needed dialogue to our understanding of eating disorders by exploring the terminology, symptomology, and interventions specific to Black women, all of which can be integrated by clinicians across disciplines. It addresses how relevant topics in the eating disorder field—such as social media use, body image, weight stigma, historical trauma, and aging—manifest in the Black community. Within the therapeutic relationship, the authors acknowledge how treatment techniques can be adapted and power dynamics addressed, allowing clients to feel seen and heard. Ultimately, clients can reimagine their relationships to food and body, facilitating their recovery.