Interview with Blanca Ruiz Múzquiz: treating EDs through online therapy
This psychologist talks to us about what it's like to work with eating disorders through online therapy.
As the ways in which psychologists provide professional support and treatment diversify, so does the way in which technology adapts to the way psychotherapy works. One example of this is online therapy, a relatively recent format of psychological intervention for patients that has already proven to be very useful and effective.
In fact, online therapy makes the work of psychologists simpler and easier to rely on for thousands of people for whom the simple fact of asking for help is already a great effort to change their mentality and habits. People with Eating Disorders (ED) are often an example of this type of problem: recognizing that they are not well and starting to remedy what is wrong with them means exposing themselves to the discomfort of not giving in to certain urges.
To talk about the use of online therapy in the treatment of people with ED, on this occasion we interviewed the psychologist Blanca Ruiz Múzquiza professional specialized in this field.
The treatment of ACTs through online therapy: interview with Blanca Ruiz Múzquiz
Blanca Ruiz Múzquiz is a psychologist based in Madrid and an expert in the clinical field, and has been offering therapy for over 10 years to people with many types of psychological disorders, among which emotional disorders and Eating Disorders.
In this interview he talks to us about how online therapy has opened the doors to a new way of giving professional support to people with problems such as anorexia, bulimia and other similar psychopathologies.
What does having to comply with pandemic confinement mean for a person with an ED?
For people who have some type of Eating Disorder it is a very complicated time to be confined to their homes for different reasons. One of the most important is that the problems that underlie the symptoms are likely to be aggravated, as they may be living with toxic or dysfunctional dynamics within their family, partner or alone.
This would cause an increase in the subjective feeling of anguish, of feeling out of control, feeling a lot of uncertainty and frustration, thus aggravating the symptoms: stop eating, having more binge eating, vomiting or the need to do sports constantly.
What are the advantages of online counseling in helping people with ED?
It is an opportunity to prevent and treat the most obvious symptoms, such as the need to binge, vomiting, body distortions or compulsive and compensatory behaviors. It is also an opportunity to see how they relate to their direct environment and to observe their relational dynamics in a more direct way.
The fact that they can do the therapy from their home, their room or a safe environment reduces the extra cost for these people with ED by having to get dressed, leave the house, go out into the world, since in phases in which there is a very high obsessivity it is a huge effort to travel to have the session.
Does online therapy encourage more profiles of people with an ED to "go to the psychologist", given the discretion offered by this format of professional care?
I would say that online therapy offers them more than the discretion, which also offers them, the ease of being able to do it in a lighter way mentally, since they have to face fewer obstacles and barriers than if we talk about the traditional form of physical assistance.
Which Eating Disorders are most commonly seen in online therapy? Is there any difference with respect to those usually seen in face-to-face consultation?
No, there is no difference in terms of the types of EDs that are seen online or in person; there are still anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorders, etc. What I have noticed is that more people have contacted me online than in person.
How is the online therapy process applied to people with anorexia or bulimia, for example?
The therapy process goes in phases, in which the visible symptoms are treated at the same time that the unseen is treated, which is fundamental, to understand why anorexia or bulimia is there, why it is there, when it is there, when it is not there; you have to know the disorder itself.
It is a comprehensive process, it is very difficult to isolate the treatment of one part without touching directly or indirectly other important aspects of the person that lead him/her to be in that situation.
The process involves a commitment by both parties to be in therapy and to work together. In severe cases or depending on the severity of certain aspects, we work in a multidisciplinary way with medical psychiatric, nutritional and group support therapy follow-up.
What do you think is the most important message to convey to a person who has developed anorexia, bulimia or another similar disorder and still does not dare to go to therapy?
"Trust the therapeutic process." I would tell her that I know it is very difficult to make that leap of trust, which is like having faith in something you don't know exists. Having faith that if you do it you will be better off.
Many times we prefer the bad known than the good to be known because it is our comfort zone and even if it is hell, it is a hell that we know; however, taking that leap implies not knowing if there will be a much worse hell and that is scary and paralyzing. That is why I would tell you to trust, to take that step and jump into the therapeutic process.
(Updated at Apr 12 / 2024)