Do you find yourself constantly obsessing over food, your weight, and dieting? Are your daily thoughts clouded by calorie counting, what you might eat or have already eaten each day, or a fear of gaining weight? Do you repetitively monitor the number on the scale? Do you use food restriction and exercise in efforts to lose weight? Do you find yourself eating in a highly regimented manner, often alone out of anxiety and shame?
Many of those struggling with anorexia have a dangerously low body weight, while others might appear “normal” and be considered to be at a healthy weight. Regardless of the number on the scale, anorexia can lead to significant changes in mood and socialization, as the preoccupation with food can become all-encompassing. Anorexia can also lead to fatigue, amenorrhea in women, heart problems and osteoporosis, amongst other conditions.
It is estimated that 10-20% of those with anorexia nervosa die from the disease, as it has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Anorexia can cause severe life-long medical issues if not treated in a timely and effective manner. It is never too late to seek help for this life-threatening illness. Schedule a free consultation to find out how our work together can help you improve your relationship with food and your body.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) – A skills-based approach to eating disorder symptom management, DBT helps to increase mindfulness around hunger and food intake, increase ability to tolerate distressing situations that may trigger restricting/bingeing/purging cycles, help to regulate strong emotions that may trigger eating disordered thoughts and behaviors, and improve relationships patterns.
Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-E)– A structured treatment that helps one to understand the underlying beliefs that maintain their eating disorder. Through the CBT-E process, effort is made to change underlying beliefs or schemas by targeting them individually. The practice of self-monitoring, an evidence-based way to increase understanding of one’s emotional experience while eating, is used and reviewed throughout treatment.
Family-Based Treatment (FBT)– Also known as the Maudsley approach, Family-Based Treatment was developed at the Maudsley Hospital in London and is an empirically proven method used to reduce eating disorder symptoms in adolescents with eating disorders. FBT engages the whole family, especially parents, in helping their child recover from an eating disorder. Parents learn to support their child during mealtimes in efforts to restore regular eating habits.