The dramatic increase in the number of patients suffering from anorexia and bulimia has generated much attention and interest among clinicians. Given eating-disordered patients' powerful defenses against acknowledgment of their seriously disabling conflicts and fear of losing impulse control, they do not readily turn to treatment. Once they are engaged, their phobic-like avoidance and denial leads to demands for symptom relief, rather than a full resolution of the underlying personality disorder. Many clinicians have observed that treatment, especially in the initial phase, tends to be turbulent and marked by regressive episodes that may reach life-threatening proportions; failed treatments are a commonplace.