Does Someone in Your Family Have an Eating Disorder?
Family Therapy Can Help
Perhaps even more difficult than having an eating disorder yourself is watching a family member in denial about their struggle with one. Yet it’s critical for you to seek education and professional help. Anorexia is the most deadly mental health disorder there is, and ignoring it is the worst thing you can do. It’s better to risk temporarily angering your loved one in order to save his or her life.
Often, those closest to us can be our greatest asset in recovery. Research has shown that when the family learns new relationship skills and gains a deeper understanding of the role an eating disorder, compulsive eating, or body image disturbance plays in the life of the client, recovery is quicker and more sustainable. You and your therapist can determine how to best involve the people who can help you get better.
Parent and Caregiver Consultations Are a Good Way to Start
Our parent and caregiver consultations provide answers to your questions about how to best approach your child or teen about an eating disorder, body image issue, or addiction behavior. This is often the first step for helping a child or teen enter treatment. When appropriate, we offer family-based treatment to help the family understand the dynamics of these self-destructive behaviors and how they can best support their loved one during recovery.
Modified Family-Based Therapy
We make sure the spouse and/or family is included in the treatment plan, following a modified family-based therapy (FBT) for the treatment of eating disorders and co-occurring issues. When appropriate, the family is brought in as the primary source of treatment. Rather than the therapist and the client working alone to figure out what needs to change, the family works together to create new, healthy behavior patterns for the client and honest communication for the family as a whole to maintain that healthy change.
We urge you to contact us today if you fear that your child or other relative may have an eating disorder, or other destructive behaviors such as cutting. Our coordinator will advise you about the best next steps to take, and help you understand your options.
- Anorexia & Bulimia
- Binge Eating
- Self-Harm Behaviors
- Body Image & Self-Esteem
- Anxiety, Depression and Mood disorders
- Family & Relationships
Call the Body Image Therapy Center with offices in Central Maryland & DC at (877)-674-2843 today or CLICK HERE to contact our Intake Coordinator.