helpful client to therapist bond because that connection will help the patient. Family Therapy A common method for helping eating disordered persons is to involve the family. Researchers found that in Western places, like England, family therapy was useful and effective. However, in China, because of the difference in culture, some underage patients refuse help and they will not trust the therapist because they see it as another way of their parents controlling them. In a case study done by Joyce L. C. Ma, she was treating a 17-year-old girl who would not accept her help. The girl said, “Its my fathers session, not my session. My father has a problem and I dont have any. He arranged everything for me. He did too much. I am sick of his over–interference in my life. I knew the sessions were his arrangement too. I dislike being at his disposal any more. So I refuse to meet you.” In order for the patient to receive help, the therapist needs to create a bond with them first, so that they can voice their needs and the cause of their disorder. Family therapy in China has also proven beneficial because families can talk about issues in the family. This in turn strengthens the patient and creates a foundation for them to hold onto. Accomplishing this kind of therapeutic bond though is the difficult part for some Chinese people because of the collectivistic culture in which they live in where the children are afraid to speak up against their parents because they do not want to bring shame upon them. Once the therapist can overcome this though, overcoming their eating disorder will be much easier than if it were individual therapy. See also Eating Recovery Obesity Child and adolescent psychiatry References Anorexia nervosa Eating disorders Mental health in China Women in China