The myths of motivation: Time for a fresh look at some received wisdom in the eating disorders?

The eating disorders typically involve poor motivation to change. This article reviews the evidence behind many of our beliefs about motivation and whether we need a different conceptual framework for understanding why patients commonly get “stuck.” The outcome literature is reviewed, and demonstrat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The International journal of eating disorders 2012-01, Vol.45 (1), p.1-16
Main Author: Waller, Glenn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior Therapy
Cognition & reasoning
Eating disorders
Emotions
Feeding and Eating Disorders - psychology
Feeding and Eating Disorders - therapy
Humans
Motivation
Psychological Theory
Therapy
treatment
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Summary:The eating disorders typically involve poor motivation to change. This article reviews the evidence behind many of our beliefs about motivation and whether we need a different conceptual framework for understanding why patients commonly get “stuck.” The outcome literature is reviewed, and demonstrates that there is little evidence that we are effective in enhancing motivation to induce changes in symptoms. Indeed, there are suggestions that commonly used models are unhelpful. Verbal expressions of motivation are not the best indicator of likely treatment response, and can best be understood as providing a “manifesto,” which has functions that can obstruct recovery from the eating disorder. A behavioral analysis of motivation is likely to be more effective. Cognitive, emotional, and behavioral methods for enhancing motivation are outlined, with the aim of bypassing the motivational manifesto and encouraging positive therapeutic change. © 2011 by Wiley Periodicals,Inc. (Int J Eat Disord 2012)
ISSN:0276-3478
1098-108X
DOI:10.1002/eat.20900