Services Eating Disorder Treatment
Eating disorders are serious but treatable mental health illnesses that are characterized by irregular eating patterns, often accompanied by significant distress regarding body shape and size. The most common eating disorders are Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder. If left untreated, eating disorders are deadly, with anorexia nervosa consistently making the top of the list as the most life-threatening psychiatric illness. Eating Disorders often co-occur with other mental health diagnoses, including, but not limited to depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Some of the Signs and Symptoms of Eating Disorders or Disordered Eating patterns (list is not exhaustive)
- Restriction of energy intake (calories) relative to what is needed
- Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat or persistent behavior that interfered with weight gain despite low weight
- Disturbance in the way in which one’s body weight/shape is experienced
- Lack of recognition of the seriousness of the current low body weight
- Episodes of binge eating: eating in a discrete amount of time an amount of food that is larger than what most individuals would eat under the same amount of time/similar circumstance
- Sense of lack of control over eating during an episode
- Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behavior in order to prevent weight gain (i.e. self-induced vomiting, use of laxatives, diuretics, other medications, fasting, excessive exercise)
- Self-evaluation that is overly influenced by body size/shape
- Eating large amounts when not feeling hungry or avoiding eating when feeling hungry
- Feeling disgusted with oneself, depressed, or guilty after eating
- Eating alone because of embarrassment or fear of judgment
- Eating until uncomfortably full
- Obsession with calories and fat content of food
- Engaging in ritualistic eating patterns (i.e. eating alone, hiding food, cutting food into tiny pieces)
fixation with food, recipes, cooking (may cook intricate meals for others, but refrain from eating themselves) - Loss of menstruation
- Depression, lethargy
- Development of soft, fine hair that grows on face/body (lanugo); loss or thinning of hair
- Constant weight fluctuations; electrolyte imbalances
- Broken blood vessels within the eyes, enlarged glands in the neck/under the jaw line
- Eating in secrecy
Treatment of Eating Disorders
Given the complexities and potentially life-threatening complications of eating disorders, it is strongly encouraged that clients who struggle with an eating disorder receive wraparound services, developing a treatment team that involves medical doctors, nutritionists or dieticians (depending on eating disorder), and therapists.
At Perspectives, we offer individual, family, and group therapy, psychiatric services (medication management) and psychological testing. Our skilled therapists provide best practice approaches to work with you/your loved one in a compassionate, healing environment.
Some of the specific treatment modalities that can/are utilized include, but are not limited to:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Motivational interviewing
- DBT Skills Training (incorporating the 4 skills-mindfulness, distress tolerance, interpersonal effectiveness, and emotion regulation)
- Medication management
- Family-Based Treatment Approaches
- Group Therapy
If you or a loved one struggle with an eating disorder, do not hesitate to seek help. Perspectives Counseling Centers is here to help you on your path of healing: “You Need Not Walk Alone”.
Books
- 8 Keys to Recovery from an Eating Disorder, by Carolyn Costin
- Life Without Ed, by Jenni Schaefer
- Almost Anorexic: Is My (or My Loved One’s) Relationship with Food a Problem?, by Jenni Schaefer and Jennifer J Thomas
- Goodbye Ed, Hello Me, by Jenni Schaefer
- Crave, by Cindy Bulik
- Cravings: How I conquered food, by Judy Collins
- The Rules of Normal Eating, by Karen Koenig
- Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat, by Michelle May
- Making Weight, by Andersen, Cohn, Holbrook
- Surviving an Eating Disorder, by Siegl, Brisman, Weinshel
- Body Wars, by Margo Maine
- Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder, by Lock, Le Grange
- The Gifts of Imperfection, by Brene Brown
- Reinventing Your Life, by Young, Klosko
- Shattered Image, by Brian Cuban
- Reclaiming Yourself from Binge Eating, by Leora Fulvio
Documentaries
-
The Illusionists
Resources for Eating Disorders
Inclusion of this list is in no way an endorsement of those sites. Perspectives is not responsible for information/content of these sites.
