Eating disorders: An interdisciplinary challenge

Abstract

In contemporaneity psychoanalytic practice, as well as in multiple health services, we have been facing a significant incidence of eating disorders. In that context, the violent effects of the physical suffering upon body and behavior take relevance, which points out to the importance of the interdisciplinary work on these cases. This article aimed to comprehend how physicians and nutritionists perceive the interdisciplinary work that is demanded by eating disorders. Data collection was conducted in an university hospital in Rio Grande do Sul. There were administered 18 interviews with physicians and nutritionists. All interviews were explored by content analysis, which enabled the gathering of fundamental issues, discussed by the Psychoanalysis’ perspective. Norms according to Resolução 466/2012 and to the Conselho Nacional de Saúde (Brazilian National Health Council), that norm the conditions of research with human beings, were respected. Interdisciplinarity was the main axis on which the data were discussed. The aspects that were emphasized are the value of the interdisciplinary work, the challenge of establishing dialogue with professionals that work with different conceptions of body, the precarious training and the prevalence of care fragmentation.

Keywords: anorexia, bulimia, psychoanalysis.