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This readable book contains a historical survey of anorexia nervosa, followed by definitions of the illness, crucial incidents in its occurrence, and descriptions of related physical symptoms; the volume concludes with a comprehensive commentary on therapy.
The greater part of the writing deals with a clinical survey of thirty cases which the author observed over a period of ten years, while he was head of the psychosomatic clinic at the medical school of the University of Heidelberg. Two of these cases are presented in minute detail, while the case histories of three other patients are described in a more condensed form. The chapter on psychogenesis and psychosomatics is of particular interest and value. Although the author's claims for therapeutic success are modest in terms of his psychoanalytically oriented treatment, he nevertheless extols the value of psychoanalysis proper as a research tool for arriving at a true psychodynamic understanding of the syndrome. Also discussed in this chapter are neo-analytic theories of neurosis and contributions of existential analysis. The 435 references in German, English, French and Italian constitute a valuable addition to the book.