Despite a number of studies found throughout the psychological literature, onlyfour case studies have been published regarding an eating disordered male in thecontext of art therapy treatment. An exploratory qualitative case study design wasused in order to address the following research questions: What is the process ofart therapy treatment with the eating disordered male, as seen through the subject?What is the nature of the artwork produced by the eating disordered male, as seenthrough the subject? The objectives of this case study were to explore the art therapyprocess, describe the symbolism contained in the artwork, and gather additionalinformation regarding the nature of eating disorders in men. This case study includedone anorexic male who met the research criteria of being between the ages of 18 and60, and who was hospitalized for at least a one week, allowing for the completion ofthree individual art therapy sessions. The subject’s artwork corresponded to severalconflicts present in the artwork of eating disordered females in the literature. Forexample, conflicts regarding family relationships and denial of the body seemed toemerge in the artwork and verbalizations. The findings also suggest that the patientstruggled with his sexual identity, which is a common feature of men with eatingdisorders. Future studies will need to corroborate the findings of this study, as wellas extend the research period beyond a one week period, in order to record artisticchanges that may occur throughout the re-feeding process. The results also impliedthat further research is needed in regards to the transferential relationship between afemale therapist and a male anorexic patient. As this study only included one malediagnosed with anorexia, more research is needed to explore the art therapy processand symbolism of men diagnosed with bulimia, eating disorder NOS, or binge eatingdisorder.M.A., Creative Arts in Therapy -- Drexel University, 200
