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What are eating disorders?
Eating disorders are serious mental health conditions where a person’s relationship with food, body image, and control becomes disrupted in ways that interfere with physical health, emotional well-being, and daily life. They are not choices or phases—they are complex disorders shaped by a mix of biological, psychological, and environmental factors.
They can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender, race, cultural background, body size, or socioeconomic status. And because they impact both the mind and the body, eating disorders often come with medical risks, changes in mood or thinking, and disruptions in daily functioning.
Symptoms & Common Experiences of EAting Disorders
- Intense and persistent concerns about body weight, shape, or size.
- Distress around eating, including fear, shame, or guilt related to food.
- Behaviors that attempt to control or cope with difficult emotions or life experiences, often through restricting food, binge eating, purging, or compulsive exercise.
- A disconnect between how someone feels in their body and what their body actually needs.
Determining What level of care is right for you
Outpatient Therapy
This is the least intensive level of care. You meet with a therapist (like me), a dietitian, and sometimes a physician while continuing your regular routines. Outpatient is best for people with early-stage symptoms, mild–moderate eating disorder behaviors, or those stepping down from higher levels of care.
Outpatient may be right for you if:
- You can eat most meals without constant supervision.
- You are medically stable (vital signs OK, no immediate health risks).
- You’re able to keep yourself safe even when urges are strong.
- You want support reshaping beliefs, coping tools, and behaviors at a steady pace.
Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
IOP usually looks like 3–4 days per week, a few hours at a time. It provides more structure than weekly therapy, while still allowing you to live at home and continue school/work part time. IOP is often for people who are functioning but struggling beneath the surface, or who feel like the eating disorder is starting to take over.
IOP may be right for you if:
- Eating disorder thoughts and behaviors are interrupting daily life.
- You need help staying consistent with meals but don’t need 24/7 support.
- You benefit from group meals, skills groups, and a more structured environment.
- You’re slipping in outpatient therapy and need more accountability.
Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
PHP is 5–7 days a week, usually 6–8 hours per day. It’s sometimes called “day treatment.” You go home at night, but the daytime is fully structured with meals, therapy, groups, and medical monitoring. PHP is often appropriate for people who are medically stable enough to be home overnight but need a high level of structure throughout the day to restore nutrition safely.
PHP may be right for you if:
- You’re unable to eat meals without supervision.
- Eating disorder behaviors happen daily and feel out of control.
- Your health is at risk but you don’t need overnight care yet.
- You need intensive support to interrupt the eating disorder cycle.
Residential Treatment
Residential treatment is 24/7 care in a home-like environment, with nurses, therapists, dietitians, and supervised meals. It’s a supportive, contained space where distractions and stressors are minimized. Residential is best for individuals with severe eating disorder symptoms, escalating health issues, or when home life can’t support recovery.
Residential may be right for you if:
- You cannot keep yourself safe at home.
- You need round-the-clock support for meals and emotional regulation.
- Your environment is too triggering or unsafe for recovery.
- Lower levels of care haven’t helped you stabilize.
Inpatient Hospitalization
This is the highest level of care and focuses on medical stabilization, not long-term therapy. It’s used when eating disorder behaviors or health complications become life-threatening. Inpatient is for acute medical crises or severe psychiatric risk.
Hospitalization may be necessary if:
- You have unstable vital signs.
- You are severely malnourished or dehydrated.
- You cannot prevent self-harm.
- You require IV fluids, tube feeding, or continuous monitoring.
EVIDENCE BASED TREATMENT FOR EAting Disorders
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT-E)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT-E)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT-E)
- Identifies the rules (“good foods,” “bad foods,” body checking, calorie limits) that keep you stuck.
- Challenges perfectionism, harsh self-talk, and body-image fears.
- Helps you rebuild a flexible, more peaceful relationship with food.
- Teaches skills to interrupt bingeing, restricting, purging, or over-exercise.
- Supports weight restoration when needed.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT-E)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT-E)
- Builds skills to manage urges without restricting or bingeing.
- Helps you understand your emotions rather than reacting to them.
- Supports coping with shame, self-criticism, and triggers.
- Strengthens stability in relationships and boundaries (often major recovery barriers).
Family-Based Treatment (FBT)
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT-E)
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Caregivers supervise meals and snacks to interrupt ED patterns.
- Reduces blame and emphasizes teamwork against the illness, not the child.
- Helps families learn structured support and communication skills.
- Provides a clear plan as teens approach independence.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for EDs
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Reduces the power of intrusive ED thoughts (“I feel huge,” “I can’t eat that”).
- Builds tolerance for discomfort without engaging in ED behaviors.
- Supports alignment with values like connection, stability, health, and freedom.
- Helps break the shame cycle that fuels ED symptoms.
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for EDs
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for EDs
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for EDs
- Supports structured exposure to fear foods, portion sizes, or body-image triggers.
- Teaches the brain that anxiety decreases naturally without restriction or compensation.
- Helps undo avoidance, rigidity, and fear-based rules around food.
- Rewires the “danger” response connected to eating and body cues.
Intuitive Eating Principles
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for EDs
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) for EDs
- Rebuilds trust with your body after years of diet culture or ED messaging.
- Supports flexible, non-restrictive eating patterns.
- Helps reduce guilt, shame, and emotional turmoil around food.
- Encourages satisfaction, attunement, and balance.