Regular Eating—a Cornerstone of Eating Disorder Recovery

Regular Eating in Eating Disorder Recovery in Los Angeles [photo description: a black couple smiling as they wash and cut vegetables] Represents a possible person in recovery from an eating disorder engaging in regular eating in Los Angeles, CA.

If you have been struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating, step one of recovery requires the establishment of daily regular eating. This is important for people with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and ARFID in all body sizes. Regular eating is one of the earliest goals of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Eating …

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Structuring Your Eating Disorder Recovery Environment

Structuring Your Eating Disorder Recovery Environment [Image description: hand visible writing in planner]

  Recovery is challenging! I am repeatedly moved and impressed by the courage of my patients as they work through recovery from an eating disorder. One strategy that can help support recovery is a careful ​structuring of one’s recovery environment. This applies to adults working individually in treatment as well as to families helping adolescents to recover. Most evidence-based …

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Is the (Eating Disorder) Treatment Your Child is Getting FBT?

Illustrated image of a teen girl sitting at a meal with parents on either side and a younger brother and a dog illustrating a family doing Family-based treatment --FBT-- for eating disorders

When new families talk to me about Family-Based Treatment (FBT), I often find that they are confused about what it is and what it isn’t. FBT is a type of evidence-based treatment for teen eating disorders. This treatment was developed at the Maudsley Hospital in London in the 1970s and 1980s; Doctors Lock and Le …

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A Viewing Guide for “To The Bone” Movie

Eating Disorder Film Guide

Ten Things I Want Viewers of To the Bone to Know “To The Bone,” Marti Noxon’s semi-autobiographical film about her experience as a young adult living with anorexia, was released today on Netflix and has already stirred up much controversy within the eating disorder community. Generally, I do not see things in black and white. …

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DBT Skills for Eating Disorders

DBT skills for eating disorder

by Elisha Carcieri, Ph.D. Both cognitive behavioral therapy for eating disorders CBT-E, and interpersonal therapy (IPT) are effective treatments for bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and patterns of disordered eating that don’t meet criteria for diagnosis. CBT for eating disorders involves making changes to patterns of behavior and thinking that serve to maintain the vicious …

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FBT Insights from the Neonatal Kitten Nursery

FBT Insights from the Kitten Nursery

I recently began volunteering at the Best Friends Neonatal Kitten Nursery. Best Friends Los Angeles opened its neonatal kitten nursery in February 2013.  The nursery is staffed with a dedicated coordinator and supported by volunteers who sign up for two hour feeding shifts 24 hours a day to help the kittens grow and thrive. If …

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Look before you leap: Binge Eating Disorder, Vyvanse, and Evidence-Based Psychotherapies

Vyvanse medication for Binge Eating Disorder in Los Angeles, CA [Image description: drawing of 2 pills outside of a prescription pill bottle, representing potential Vyvanse for a patient with Binge Eating Disorder in California]

Learn Why Therapy is Superior to Medication for The Treatment of Binge Eating Disorder by Elisha M. Carcieri, Ph.D., Psychologist, and staff therapist Binge eating disorder (BED) made headlines when the FDA approved lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (Vyvanse) for the treatment of BED. So, what is BED, how is it treated, and what does this treatment option mean …

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Parental direction works, but don’t expect your kid to be happy about it: Research on The Family Meal in FBT

Parents charged with helping their children to recover in Family-Based Treatment often wonder 1) how to actually get their children to eat and 2) whether they will harm their children or the parent-child relationship by requiring them to eat. A recent study addressed these concerns by looking at the family meal.         …

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Highlights from #ICED2014: The FBT Debate

Drs. Le Grange and Strober

ICED 2014 in New York provided a wonderful opportunity to connect with colleagues from around the world who share a commitment to providing treatment to those suffering from eating disorders. Among the highlights for me were the well-attended, first-ever tweetUP and my official appointment as Board Director for Outreach of the Academy for Eating Disorders. …

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Empirically Validated Treatments

Empirically Validated Treatments For Eating Disorders Today’s Los Angeles Times contained an article which highlights Family Based Treatment and Cognitive Behavioral Treatment, two treatments I provide: Today, doctors and therapists focus on a handful of treatments that have been validated by clinical studies. For teens with anorexia, the first-line treatment is something called family-based therapy, …

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