EATING DISORDERS

Because eating disorders are life threatening diseases, we use treatment methods supported by research showing the strongest evidence for effective results.  The most compassionate care is treatment that works.  We won’t provide anything less – it’s what you should demand.

We take a team approach to treatment that fights the disease and supports the individual using behavioral therapies, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – Enhanced (CBT-e), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Maudsley or Family Based Therapy (FBT), nutritional support and referral to a network of medical and psychiatric treatment providers.  These treatment methods incorporate a nonjudgemental stance that does not seek to explain why someone has developed an eating disorder as science has not yet provided an answer to that question.  Instead, we devote our resources to validating the person and/or the family’s suffering, understanding how the disease has impacted the individual’s life and using a variety of powerful resources to renourish the mind and body.

This evidence based approach was developed by Christopher Fairburn to treat adults suffering from binge eating, bulimia and anorexia.  Treatment is designed to understand the connections between particular thoughts and behavioral patterns that impact eating behaviors and replace them with more effective ones.

DBT and DBT Consultants for Eating Disorders

DBT, as developed by Marsha Linehan, is an evidenced based treatment that integrates the power of CBT tools aimed at changing feelings, thoughts and behaviors, with mindfulness therapy and skills, designed to foster an attitude of acceptance as well as the ability to cope with emotional pain.  DBT is recommended for those who have experienced prior treatment failure and/or for those with co-occurring concerns like self-injury. It is a more structured and intensive form of therapy. We offer separate and adherent DBT for adults and adolescents with eating disorders.  Please click here to read more about DBT and our DBT treatment team.

Maudesly or Family Based Treatment (FBT)

FBT is the gold standard of evidence based treatment for children and adolescents with eating disorders.  Research indicates that recovery rates for FBT are approximately 75% compared with approximately 30% to 40% for treatment as usual.  This is a manualized treatment developed to include parents in the care and recovery of their children.  FBT providers take an agnostic view of cause – certainly biology plays a role and beyond that the research does not provide an explanation of why young people develop these deadly illnesses.  What FBT providers know is that no one chooses to have an eating disorder and families don’t cause eating disorders.

Our treatment team includes a Registered Dietician with training in social work to provide the most advanced and compassionate education and support for families and individuals regardless of age, gender, or lifestyle.  Depending on treatment model, working with our nutritionist might include meal support groups, menu planning or consultation to parents or family members engaged in refeeding their loved one.
We are happy to work with your existing physician/s or refer you to one of the specialists we work with in the community.  Medical monitoring is an essential part of treatment for eating disorders and requires regular attention to a variety of vital signs, body systems and chemical changes effected by malnutrition and refeeding. Should you decide to stay with your current physician/s we are happy to consult with them and provide them with information on any of our treatments that they may be unfamiliar with. Whether you stay with your current doctor or an ED specialist we refer you to, we look forward to a collegial relationship where communication is regular and an essential key to your recovery.

PARTNERS & RESOURCES

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