Eating Disorder Therapy for Children and Adolescents
you did not cause the problem, but you will be essential to the cure
Child and adolescent eating disorders are serious problems that require early detection and highly specialized intervention. Overwhelmed parents come to us with concerns that their child seems to have slipped away. They’ve noticed new fixations on food or avoidance of family meals all together. They wonder if their kid has taken “healthy” eating too far or, perhaps, may be eating in secret, while some have questions about how much is too much exercise. Sometimes it’s a pediatrician who has expressed concern about precipitous weight loss or stalled growth, while other times a parent senses something is “off” but struggles to reconcile that hunch when they perceive their child to be “at a fine weight.” Most feel like they are walking on eggshells, wonder if they have done something to cause this, and don't quite know what to do or say. Concern is usually a reliable indication that something is wrong… and we can help.
As frightening as childhood and adolescent eating disorders are, there is hope. Together we can help your child stop engaging in potentially life-threatening behaviors, develop safer, more effective coping strategies, and protect them from the risk of life-long body image and food related struggles.
While we recognize that nothing is one size fits all, we embrace the evidence-based model of Family-Based Treatment, which has been shown to produce the highest rates of recovery. Children and teens with eating disorders heal when they are surrounded by robust physical and emotional nourishment.
Most parents can provide this when they are supported and empowered. Here’s how we do it:
we don’t point fingers
We take an agnostic view of the eating disorder, meaning we don’t believe you are to blame. Together we will be curious about what genetic and environmental factors have increased your child’s risk of developing the eating disorder, but we will focus the bulk of our energy on what you CAN do to best support your child’s recovery.
we know your child is not the eating disorder
We conceptualize eating disorders as an external force that has possessed your child and wrecks havoc on their mental and physical health. Parents often say their child is unrecognizable to them - sometimes physically, behaviorally, emotionally, or all of the above. Together we will join forces with the “healthy part” of your child to fight off the eating disorder and set them back on a healthy, developmental path.
we believe you are the expert on your child
We are experts in the eating disorder, but nobody knows or loves your child more than you do. This makes you an invaluable part of your child’s treatment team. We will actively collaborate with you, your child’s physician, and any other relevant providers to ensure that we work together as one well-oiled machine to rescue you child from the grips of the eating disorder.
we focus on food as medicine
Our work will focus primarily on feeding, regular eating, and a regulation of weight and health. We are after full nutrition and prevention of further eating disorder behaviors. We will remain curious about underlying causes of the eating disorder and any other psychological distress, but we will not lose focus: recovery can be achieved by treating the symptoms directly.
we integrate body-positivity parenting
Wherever you are in your child’s recovery journey it’s never too late to adopt a body-positive parenting style. While you renourish your child, we’ll help nourish you with easily accessible and digestible resources to help you transform your home environment into a place where your child can sustain their recovery, foster protective values, and bloom in full.