Eating Disorder Treatment Options
Depending on the type of eating disorder a person is afflicted with, and how severe it is mentally, emotionally, and physically, different levels of eating disorder treatment may be more appropriate to gain recovery. There are five different levels of treatment to address the different levels of severity in the industry at this point in time. My wish is that there will be many more in the future to aid in permanent recovery for all. For now it might be helpful to peruse the following types of treatment to make the most appropriate choice for your own process.
1. Hospitalization or Acute Inpatient Treatment
Extremely low-weight patients may require medical stabilization prior to an inpatient admission. In the hospital a low weight patient may receive intensive medical support. A medical and treatment team will collaborate to facilitate a successful transition to an appropriate inpatient eating disorder treatment facility.
It is important that we have options for inpatient programming which is designed to support women and men who are acutely ill, and are experiencing medical and mood instability as a result of their eating disorder.
The Inpatient level of care focuses primarily on weight restoration and medical stabilization. It usually offers round-the-clock nursing supervision, direct psychiatric care and medication management. Nutrient rich meals and psycho-social support prepare patients to step down to a residential level of care.
Depending on the severity, adult patients are not usually confined to a hospital bed or room unless the need for bed rest is evident. As they are physically able, adult patients at an inpatient level of care might participate in therapeutic programming and interact with a supportive treatment community of adult patients and staff.
Our Gold Standard of Care for this type of treatment is Eating Recovery Center in Denver, Colorado.
Visit the Eating Recovery Center’s website here for more information.
2. Residential treatment
Residential eating disorder treatment should be designed for patients that need 24-hour support but no longer require the same intensity of medical support and stabilization. These programs are known to offer round-the-clock observation and support, as well as daytime medical and psychiatric supervision.
Please look for a well managed residential program with a structured schedule that incorporates groups, community meetings and individual therapy to model a recovery-based daily structure. This helps patients overcome destructive routines, rules and behaviors. The treatment program also focuses on the factors maintaining patients’ eating disorders, recovery skills, and relapse prevention.
You can also look for evidence-based clinical interventions to enhance behavioral change, including:
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT)
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
Experiential therapies including art, psychodrama, mindfulness, movement and yoga are also part of a rich residential program but are not necessary.
Making sure the program gives the opportunity to test recovery in real-world situations, including meal and activity outings can help them identify recovery challenges and determine readiness for lighter treatment.
Eating Recovery Center in Denver is AGAIN our Gold Standard of Care for residential treatment. For more information, please visit their website.
3. Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP)
A good PHP should offer the same activities as residential eating disorder treatment, while providing additional opportunities to practice recovery outside of a controlled eating disorder treatment environment during evenings, at home, or in peer-supported apartment communities.
You should look for a minimum of seven to ten hours per day at least five days per week to get the most out of this style of treatment. The minimum support through PHP should include meal support and ample structure containment to achieve symptom interruption and/or weight restoration. Helpful groups could include:
Interactive group sessions, Transitions groups, Process groups, Art therapy, Cooking groups with challenge opportunities, Restaurant outings, Yoga, Peer support groups, etc.
You guessed right!
Eating Recovery Center in Denver is AGAIN our Gold Standard of Care for PHP. For more information, please visit the Eating Recovery Center website here.
4. Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP)
This should be a much more flexible eating disorder treatment program that encourages life. Patients should not be taken out of their daily lives. This treatment should include their need to work, go to school, or care for children during the day and sleep at home at night. A good IOP should include up to three days per week of nutritional counseling, individual therapy, family therapy, supported meals and more. This is the time where patients really TRY OUT their fostered recovery tools, and the program should foster an environment that doesn’t threaten their slips as anything more than PART of their recovery process. Our Gold Standard for this type of treatment used to be Ramey Nutrition in Seattle, Washington, however that has moved into an online forum, www.RameyNutrition.org which will offer a 12-Week online course to aid those needing groups, and individual services.
5. Parenting Intensives
This is very different from family therapy, but we feel needs to be addressed, not as a level of treatment, but treatment which is concurrent and parallels their teen or young adult’s eating disorder treatment at any level, but most important at the IOP and PHP levels. This should include a multitude of resources for parents on how to support their child through the recovery process without making them feel like they need to BECOME an expert. Topics such as de escalation of a panic attack, boundary setting, tools to help them eat out, or at home, etc. As there are limited resources, and Ramey Nutrition has 10+ years of working directly with parents, successfully, we truly feel the Gold Standard of Care in this type of treatment is Ramey Nutrition’s Eating Disorder Parenting Intensive or EDPI. We will be opening this course in April so look for it, and we hope to see you all there! If you’re interested in pre ordering your EDPI course, please email usORSend a text with your name and email to (206) 910-8690. We hope this was helpful in being able to decide on the right treatment level for you or your loved one!