This practical guide approaches obesity and overeating from a psychological perspective, and offers sensitive methods to increase patients' sense of self-worth, self-knowledge, and motivation to lose weight. ''The Overweight Patient'' explores the underlying beliefs and behaviours that may contribute to obesity, including psychological needs, addiction, fear of deprivation, parental influences and sexual fears. Kathy Leach draws a useful distinction between the need to eat and the need to maintain a large body size, and addresses the reasons for both long-term obesity and short-term weight gain. She provides a clear and accessible introduction to the psychoanalytic theory of transactional analysis, and details how this approach can be used with overweight people. Illustrated with patient histories, exercises and worked examples of techniques, this book enables therapists and health practitioners to help obese people come to terms with their size, or to support their decision to change their behaviour and reduce their need to eat.