Binge-eating disorder (BED) was first included as its own diagnostic entity in the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) within the Feeding and Eating Disorders section.1 BED’s hallmark feature is recurrent binge eating, involving the consumption of an amount of food that is definitively larger than what others would eat under comparable circumstances within a certain time, associated with a feeling of loss of control over eating. Diagnosis of BED according to DSM-5 (307.59) requires this objective binge eating to occur at least once per week over 3 months. In contrast to binge eating in bulimia nervosa, binge eating in BED occurs without regular inappropriate compensatory behaviors aimed at preventing weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting, fasting, or laxative misuse. Binge eating in BED is further characterized by behavioral abnormalities, such as eating rapidly or until feeling uncomfortably full, and results in marked distress.

The aims of this study were to explore professionals’ and clients’ experiences of diagnosis and treatment of auditory verbal hallucinations with a view to identifying important clinical issues for counselling psychologists. Six professionals, three psychologists and three psychiatrists, who had worked with people who hear voices, alongside four clients who hear voices, volunteered and participated in a semi-structured interview. These interviews were transcribed and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as described by Smith, Flowers and Larkin (2009). A table of super-ordinate and sub-ordinate themes was created as a result of this analysis. A number of themes arose from both groups of participants’ experiences. The main themes that arose for the professionals was: professional ambivalence; varying theories on causes of voices; perspectives on diagnosis and formulation; perspectives on medication; thoughts on working therapeutically; and, thinking on recovery. The themes that arose from the clients’ experiences were feelings about diagnosis and experiences of treatment. This research concludes that there is professional ambivalence in working with people who hear voices that is caused by a lack of certainty about the causes of the phenomenon alongside a lack of training in working with clients who have symptoms of psychosis. This impacts clients in several ways. The clients in this study were not offered the option to have any involvement in their own care and none of them were offered therapy as a treatment option. The study also concludes that psychiatric diagnosis does not consider all pertinent information related to clients’ issues which can lead to inconsistency in the diagnosis of clients who hear voices.

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The purpose of this study was to investigate how women's perceptions of the helpfulness of services received at a substance abuse treatment clinic affected their compliance with the treatment program. The study surveyed thirty-two women who were receiving treatment from Inland Behavioral and Health Services. The study investigated the efficacy of these elements: parenting classes, health classes, substance abuse therapy groups, group therapy, drug screening, health clinics, Narcotics Anonymous meetings, Dual Diagnosis Anonymous meetings, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, homeless support services, individual therapy, case managers, daycare, transportation.