Reference no: EM132221441

Case Study: Maggie is an 18-year-old college freshman. During high school, she was an honor roll student and athlete, participating on the soccer and swim teams. Maggie is very driven to succeed at college, and is feeling the strains of being in a new place with high academic standards. She began to gravitate to comforting favorite foods in the cafeteria, such as pizza, French fries, and soft serve ice cream. She soon began to notice that her clothes were getting tight. Maggie became very scared of gaining the "freshman fifteen" and started working out and eating more healthfully. After she lost the few pounds she had gained, however, she decided she could stand to lose a few more. She began getting up at 6 a.m. to fit in a long gym workout before class, and began to make rules about which foods in the cafeteria she was allowed to eat. Maggie comes to see you at the university counseling center because she is "stressed" and "anxious." During your assessment, you notice that she is very thin, and you learn that she has lost 20 pounds since she began what she describes as "just eating better and working out to be healthier."

This unit contains a Journal Entry. Please respond to the following questions in at least 250 words or one page. Write your response directly in the Journal area.

In the past few years, researchers have explored food addiction as a public health problem. Experts believe that compulsive eating can trigger the same reward areas in the brain as drug use.

Read the case study underneath the questions about Maggie and her eating disorder and respond to the following questions:

1. What are the most important concerns to focus on first as her counselor?

2. How would you begin to explore your concerns about her eating patterns, or would you?

3. What levels of care might you consider: outpatient, intensive outpatient, and/or residential?

4. How would you discuss the addictive nature of her eating patterns? Or, would you mention addiction?