Getting a diagnosis is the first step towards recovery from an eating disorder. Treating an eating disorder generally involves a combination of psychological and nutritional counseling, along with medical and psychiatric monitoring.
Full Answer
What works to treat an eating disorder?
Find out what works. Eating disorder treatment depends on your particular disorder and your symptoms. It typically includes a combination of psychological therapy (psychotherapy), nutrition education, medical monitoring and sometimes medications.
How long does it take to treat an eating disorder?
Talk with your treatment team about financial issues and any concerns — don't avoid treatment because of the potential cost. Psychological therapy is the most important component of eating disorder treatment. It involves seeing a psychologist or another mental health professional on a regular basis. Therapy may last from a few months to years.
What are the different levels of treatment for eating disorders?
There are many levels of care that are available for the treatment of eating disorders. Outpatient means that you return home following a treatment session. This level of care is often used for individuals who: Outpatient programs may vary in intensity depending on an individual’s needs.
Who should be on your eating disorder recovery team?
It’s important to have a team of eating disorder specialists to aid you in your recovery. At a minimum, your team should consist of a physician, mental health counselor, and registered dietitian nutritionist. For treatment of eating disorders in children and adolescents, family members and loved ones are essential to the recovery process. 6
What is the most effective way to approach the treatment of anorexia nervosa?
Treatment for anorexia is generally done using a team approach, which includes doctors, mental health professionals and dietitians, all with experience in eating disorders. Ongoing therapy and nutrition education are highly important to continued recovery.
What is the first treatment objective when treating a patient with anorexia nervosa?
The goals of treatment for anorexia include: Stabilizing weight loss. Beginning nutrition rehabilitation to restore weight. Eliminating binge eating and/or purging behaviors and other problematic eating patterns.
How would a patient overcome an eating disorder?
Individual or group therapy. Therapy can help you explore the issues underlying your eating disorder, improve your self-esteem, and learn healthy ways of responding to stress and emotional pain. Different therapists have different methods, so it is important to discuss with them your goals in working towards recovery.
Who should I contact if I have an eating disorder?
A team approach is often best. Those who may be involved in treatment include medical doctors, mental health professionals, and nutritionists. The participation and support of family members also makes a big difference in the success of eating disorder treatment.
What is the most successful type of therapy for individuals with anorexia nervosa?
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) has been successful in treating several different conditions and is often used for eating disorder recovery. In simplest terms, CBT can be understood as a type of talk therapy.
What interventions are effective for individuals with anorexia?
For anorexia nervosa, the family approach showed greater effectiveness. Other effective approaches were interpersonal psychotherapy, dialectic behavioral therapy, support therapy and self-help manuals.
What advice would you give to improve the eating problem of your friend?
Do show compassion and care, and listen to them non-judgmentally. A person with an eating disorder is likely to be experiencing intense levels of emotional pain and self-loathing. Telling them you care about them, and that you're there to help, is the most effective way of showing your support.
How did I overcome anorexia?
Recovery from Anorexia is Possible This can be achieved by: Providing nutritional support and medical care to regain appropriate weight. Counseling the person based on underlying psychological issues and fear of weight gain. Help the person learn coping strategies and tools that help prevent relapse.
When should you go to the hospital for not eating?
Any time a person is experiencing medical complications due to their eating disorder including but not limited to an unstable heart rate or blood pressure, fainting, or bleeding from vomiting, they should be screened for hospitalization.
What is an Orthorexic?
What Is Orthorexia? Orthorexia is an unhealthy focus on eating in a healthy way. Eating nutritious food is good, but if you have orthorexia, you obsess about it to a degree that can damage your overall well-being. Steven Bratman, MD, a California doctor, coined the term in 1996.
How underweight Do you have to be to be hospitalized?
Low Body Weight The Academy of Eating Disorders recommends inpatient treatment for anyone at or below 75% of their ideal body weight. This is a general suggestion for medical professionals, not a hard and fast rule.
What do Ed hotlines do?
Trained hotline volunteers offer encouragement to those having problems around eating or binging, support for those who “need help getting through a meal,” and assistance to family members who have concerns that their loved one might have an eating disorder.
Setting Up A Treatment Plan
You and your treatment team determine what your needs are and come up with goals and guidelines. Your treatment team works with you to: 1. Develop...
Medications For Eating Disorders
Medications can't cure an eating disorder. They're most effective when combined with psychological therapy.Antidepressants are the most common medi...
Hospitalization For Eating Disorders
Hospitalization may be necessary if you have serious physical or mental health problems or if you have anorexia and are unable to eat or gain weigh...
Hospital Day Treatment Programs
Day treatment programs are structured and generally require attendance for multiple hours a day, several days a week. Day treatment can include med...
Residential Treatment For Eating Disorders
With residential treatment, you temporarily live at an eating disorder treatment facility. A residential treatment program may be necessary if you...
Ongoing Treatment For Health Problems
Eating disorders can cause serious health problems related to inadequate nutrition, overeating, bingeing and other factors. The type of health prob...
What does treatment involve?
The most effective and long-lasting treatment for an eating disorder is some form of psychotherapy or psychological counseling, coupled with careful attention to medical and nutritional needs.
Suggested Medical Tests
A complete medical assessment is important when diagnosing eating disorders. Talk with your doctor about performing specific laboratory tests.
How do I get over eating disorder?
Treatment. Getting a diagnosis is only the first step towards recovery from an eating disorder. Treating an eating disorder generally involves a combination of psychological and nutritional counseling, along with medical and psychiatric monitoring.
What is the most important consideration when selecting a psychotherapist?
Perhaps one of the most important considerations when selecting a psychotherapist is the type of therapy they provide. Different therapies work differently for different people, and some may be more helpful than others, depending on the person and their stage of recovery. Read more >
What time does the NEDA helpline call?
You can also chat with our Helpline! NEDA Helpline chat hours are Monday-Thursday from 9am to 9pm ET, and Friday from 9am to 5pm ET. Chat Now.
Is there a one size fits all approach to eating disorders?
It is important that people with eating disorders seek professional help. There are differing approaches to treatment and no one-size-fits-all approach. Since there is not one approach that is considered superior for everyone, it is important to find the option that works for you.
Is nutrition counseling necessary?
Nutritional counseling is also necessary and should incorporate education about nutritional needs, as well as planning for and monitoring rational choices by the individual patient. There are a variety of treatments that have been shown to be effective in treating eating disorders.
What is the best way to help someone with eating disorders?
Your primary care doctor can be an important initial resource for getting help with an eating disorder. They can help evaluate your symptoms and eating patterns, and can refer you to a treatment specialist close to you.
What is the best treatment for anorexia?
However, many people with anorexia do see an improvement with therapy. CBT and IPT are the most established treatments for binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa. FBT is the most established type of therapy for children and adolescents with anorexia nervosa, and may also be beneficial for those with bulimia nervosa.
What is CBT used for?
CBT is used for a variety of mental health conditions, and people receiving CBT for eating disorders experience improvements in other related symptoms like depression and anxiety.
What is anad treatment?
ANAD is a nonprofit organization that aims to help people with eating disorders get care and support. They have several resources that you can use, such as: Treatment directory: The ANAD treatment directory can help you find a treatment provider in your area.
What is the National Eating Disorders Association?
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) NEDA is a nonprofit organization that works to support those that have an eating disorder. Their website contains a wealth of information about eating disorders, treatment, and support. Additional resources from NEDA that you may find helpful include:
What is the goal of psychodynamic therapy?
The overall goal of psychodynamic psychotherapy is to help you understand the underlying cause of your eating disorder. This involves diving deep into things such as your internal conflicts and motives.
What is eating disorder?
Sturti/Getty Images. An eating disorder is a mental health condition that causes disturbances to your diet and the way you view food. There are several types of eating disorders. Some examples include:
What happens when you seek treatment for eating disorder?
When someone needs to seek eating disorder treatment, they may begin to deceive those around them to cover up their disordered eating behaviors. The sufferer may lie to themselves, to friends, and to their treatment team about their progress, behaviors or practices. It is a typical reaction to push people away and mask what really is happening in order to keep their disorder a secret.
How many hours a week should an eating disorder patient attend?
Here, the person often attends 3 hours per day, up to 7 days a week, but usually no less than three days a week.
What are the changes in personality that can occur during the development of an eating disorder?
Many changes can occur during the development of an eating disorder. For many, mood changes are the first to be easily recognized. Irritability, depression, and social isolation are just some of the shifts in personality frequently seen in anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder [1].
What happens when you have an obsession with food?
For some, weight loss continues as a result of a diet, but then an obsession with food begins, irrational thoughts about food, eating, and weight gain/loss often enter their mind. At first, these thoughts may be temporary, but after some time, these same thoughts often become “all-consuming.” Individuals may start having a difficult time separating their own thoughts from their eating disordered thoughts. When the obsession with food, weight, eating, etc. becomes all that they think about, then they have arrived at a serious need for treatment.
What is outpatient counseling?
Outpatient counseling is designed for individuals who do not necessarily require a high level of care and are working on behaviors and issues that are not directly related to eating disorders. Typically, issues addressed in this type of care are the underlying issues, symptoms management, recovery processes, body image, and co-occurring disorders.
What to expect from eating disorder treatment?
What to Expect from Treatment. Getting a diagnosis is the first step towards recovery from an eating disorder. Treating an eating disorder generally involves a combination of psychological and nutritional counseling, along with medical and psychiatric monitoring.
What kind of doctor treats eating disorders?
A primary care physician, such as a pediatrician, internist, or family doctor, may have referrals to local therapists and dietitians who have experience in treating eating disorders, as might other specialists like adolescent medicine physicians and gynecologists.
Why is it so hard to use psychotherapy?
When someone is severely malnourished, it can be hard to make use of psychotherapy as the eating disorder interferes with a person’s ability to concentrate and change patterns of behavior.
Is nutrition counseling necessary?
Nutritional counseling is also necessary and should incorporate education about nutritional needs, as well as planning for and monitoring rational choices by the individual patient. There are a variety of treatments that have been shown to be effective in treating eating disorders.
What Does Treatment involve?
- The most effective and long-lasting treatment for an eating disorder is some form of psychotherapy or psychological counseling, coupled with careful attention to medical and nutritional needs. Ideally, this treatment should be tailored to the individual and will vary according to both the severity of the disorder and the patient's particular proble...
Suggested Medical Tests
- Compiled for the National Eating Disorders Association by Margo Maine, PhD A complete medical assessment is important when diagnosing eating disorders. Talk with your doctor about performing specific laboratory tests. With eating disorders, the most important first step toward diagnosis and recovery is to have a complete assessment. This includes a medical evaluation t…
Table 1--Recommended Laboratory Tests
- Standard 1. Complete Blood Count (CBC) with differential 2. Urinalysis 3. Complete Metabolic Profile: Sodium, Chloride, Potassium, Glucose, Blood Urea Nitrogen, Creatinine, Total Protein, Albumin, Globulin, Calcium, Carbon Dioxide, AST, Alkaline Phosphates, Total Bilirubin 4. Serum magnesium Thyroid Screen (T3, T4, TSH) 5. Electrocardiogram (ECG) Special Circumstances 15…
Table 2--Criteria For Level of Care
- Inpatient
Medically Unstable 1. Unstable or depressed vital signs 2. Laboratory findings presenting acute risk 3. Complications due to coexisting medical problems such as diabetes Psychiatrically Unstable 1. Symptoms worsening at rapid rate 2. Suicidal and unable to contract for safety - Residential
1. Medically stable so does not require intensive medical interventions 2. Psychiatrically impaired and unable to respond to partial hospital or outpatient treatment