2024 Volume 64 Issue 3 Pages 247-252
Numerous patients with eating disorders visit the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine at Kyushu University Hospital annually. However, there are cases in which treatment is interrupted before completion of the process. Furthermore, when patients with eating disorders are admitted to psychosomatic medicine, persuasion by medical personnel and family members often requires considerable time and energy. Fukamachi stated that if hospitalization is achieved after sufficient time is spent on persuasion and consent, the hospitalization goals have been halfway achieved. This achievementis important in treatment because it indicates that the patient has taken a significant step toward recovery by confronting the psychopathology of eating disorders, including avoidance.
However, there are cases in which persuasion for treatment is not reached or in which the patient refuses all treatments even after hospitalization. Within the framework of psychosomatic medicine, which lacks legal coercive power, challenges persist in guiding patients toward treatment and saving lives.
This article discusses the ethical challenges in treating eating disorders in the field of psychosomatic medicine.
