I have mixed feelings about Steven Levenkron, Karen's therapist who treated Karen in 1982. In his defense, Karen was persistent in being treated her way. She wouldn't do an inpatient program. She didn't take the recommendation of Cherry Boone O'Neil who had proven success with a Dr. (an actual doctor not just a therapist) who was on the west coast. She had this idea that she could speed up her recovery by going 5 times a week for therapy. I don't know that Karen was truly committed to recovery. It seemed she wanted a quick fix so she could proclaim herself cured and having gone through some effort and then go back to regular life. So Levenkron had his work cut out for him. He couldn't exercise any kind of direction because Karen was used to getting her way. Perhaps her expectation as a star.
What bothered me about Levenkron was his proclamation in a 1993 Current Affair interview that Karen was cured of her anorexic behaviors with the implication that he cured her. This is completely false. She was most certainly not cured. She was force fed and never learned how to nourish herself. Also he knows that he never really helped her resolve her issues. Karen went to the hospital when she physically couldn't survive anymore and interestingly checked herself out of the hospital when he was out of town. The she went back to California and started abusing ipecac. He knew all this and still declares her cured!
I also question his motives in publicizing his treatment of Karen. His meetings with her should have been kept confidential. It seems to me that he was seeking more publicity through the association with Karen in addition to his book and movie deals.
