Eating Disorder Therapy: Comprehensive Approaches to Recovery

If you or a loved one are starting eating disorder therapy, you may notice that this type of treatment often requires a different and more comprehensive approach. Eating disorders are emotional disorders that not only affect mental health but physical health as well. Eating disorders impact one’s relationship with food and behaviors surrounding food. Symptoms such as restrictive eating, over-exercise, and self-induced vomiting can cause serious health consequences including and not limited to low body weight, loss of the menstrual cycle, cardiac issues, digestion problems, and dental decay. Because of the complexity of eating disorders, providers recommend treating eating disorders from a team approach.

Eating disorders are one of the most deadly mental illnesses due to their impact on both mental and physical health. Individuals should seek help right away if experiencing eating disorder symptoms. Treatment typically includes providers such as a therapist and psychiatrist to manage the mental health symptoms associated with eating disorders through therapeutic interventions and medication management. Changes in the relationship to food are often triggered by anxiety, depression, and trauma. Evidence based therapy practices to reduce eating disorder symptoms include cognitive behavioral therapy and dialectical behavioral therapy. When researching a therapist or psychiatrist, ensure that they have experience in treating eating disorders and ask about their approach to therapy.

Treatment should also include a dietitian who can provide consistent nutrition counseling. Nutrition counseling is important to support individuals in normalizing their relationship with food, managing weight, refeeding, and gaining nutrition education. This is an important supplement to mental health therapy as it addresses the dietary impacts of eating disorders. 

In addition to a therapist, psychiatrist, and dietitian, it is important that individuals with eating disorders are also being followed by medical providers. Primary care physicians can monitor clients’ vital signs, weight, and lab values in order to recommend increased medical support as needed. Individuals with eating disorders often also need to be followed by medical providers such as endocrinologists due to the hormonal impacts of eating disorders, gynecologists due to the impact on the menstrual cycle and fertility, gastroenterologists due to the impact on the digestive system, and cardiologists due to the cardiac consequences of eating disorders.

Putting this team in place may seem daunting to a new client. Providers who specialize in this specific are will strive to provide as much eating disorder education as possible to help clients understand the dynamics of an eating disorder and why it should be treated from a team approach with evidence based tools to allow for the most effective reduction in symptoms and the most significant improvement in mental and physical health. If you or a loved one are struggling with an eating disorder or need any support, our team is here to help! You are not alone and we welcome you to reach out with any questions you might have about how we can help you, today.