Group Therapy for Eating Disorders

FREE Virtual Adult ARFID Support Group for people in California

We celebrated three years of this group on March 10, 2024!

The group meets EVERY Thursday at 5 pm unless we notify you otherwise. Contact hello@EDTLA.com for the link.

We are seeing more and more need for treatment for Avoidant Restrictive Intake Disorder (ARFID). Several of our clinicians have several years of experience in treating ARFID and have undergone training in CBT-AR with Drs Thomas and Eddy, the developers of CBT-AR.

The patients we see with ARFID are usually relieved to find a treatment that is tailored to them. They report not knowing other people with ARFID and not having people in their lives who understand what it is like to live with ARFID. They report feeling like they don’t fit in in other eating disorder recovery and support spaces.

So, here we have it, a space just for adults with ARFID. Open to anyone in California, age 18 and up with ARFID. Come for support and education.

This group is ongoing (since March 2021) and is held online on Thursday evenings, 5 to 6 pm. Run by Dr. Muhlheim.

Call 323-743-1122 or email hello@EDTLA.com to reserve a spot. More info (including all weeks the group is canceled) is available on the ARFID group page.

College Process Group

Our monthly process group for college students with eating disorders meets weekly on Wednesday at 7 pm over Zoom. This group is open to all college students in California who are looking for eating disorder recovery support.

Our college group is a safe space to discuss the struggles of recovery and college life and to receive mutual support. This group is supplemental support and is not a replacement for higher levels of care.

Space is limited. We ask for a one-month commitment to facilitate group cohesion. Register for one month at a time. A $60 deposit is required to reserve your spot. The group is led by Kristine Flanigan, Psy.D., supervised by Lauren Muhlheim, Psy.D., PSY15045.

For more information, visit our college process group page.

Teen Recovery Group

Our teen group is open to teens of all genders in California, ages 13 to 18, who are in Phase 2 of FBT and are weight recovered and abstinent from eating disorder behaviors. It’s also open to teens not treated with FBT but who are at a similar place in recovery. Teens who are not in treatment with us, but who show similar signs of recovery will be assessed for readiness for our group.

The group meets weekly for 6 weeks and is held on Wednesdays from 4:30 to 5:45 pm. The group aims to help teens in recovery develop connections and build a strong anti-diet HAES (R) stance. In this six-week online group, we will explore how to bolster recovery through flexible eating and strengthening coping skills. Members will be able to share and connect through discussion, advocacy, and art while developing strategies to promote empowerment and body acceptance.

The group is led by Louisiana Wermer, LMFT who has a lot of experience with this population. Contact us now to get on the waiting list. hello@EDTLA.com. Space is limited. This group is offered several times a year.

Pricing: $360 for 6 weeks. Or in-network for teens with Anthem, Aetna, Carelon Partners, and Anthem Medi-Cal insurance

To register or for more information, email hello@EDTLA.com and put “teen group” in the subject line. For more information, visit the teen group page.

ARFID Parent Support Group

We welcome caregivers of children, teens, and adults with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) to our virtual support group.

Parenting a young person with ARFID is challenging. Feeding a child or teen or young adult with ARFID is extremely challenging. Meals may feel like a constant struggle. You have likely been given conflicting advice about whether to cater to their food preferences or not. Also, you may feel like you’re running ragged searching for their preferred brand of yogurt or chicken nuggets or having to bring home the exact right fast food every night. You may have run out of ideas for what food to serve them. They may be eating the same eight foods over and over again and the list of foods they are willing to eat only seems to get smaller over time. You feel worried about their health and you know they are not getting enough nutrition.

We have been supporting parents in supporting their teens with ARFID. Our work is rooted in Family-Based Treatment for child and teen eating disorders and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for ARFID. In our work with families of teens with ARFID, we see how hard it is to parent and feed and support recovery. This is why we have created a monthly support group for parents of teens with ARFID.

This monthly group is led by Lauren Muhlheim, Psy.D., CEDS-S over zoom. We will provide psychoeducation about ARFID, the different types of ARFID, how it may develop, maintaining factors, and recovery strategies. Parents will be able to share struggles and successes.

For more information about the group check out our Parent ARFID Support group page or please contact hello@EDTLA.com or you may register for the monthly group (priced at $40) on our group registration page. (Please be sure you are registering for our monthly ARFID Parent group and NOT our free weekly Adult ARFID group).

Family-Based Treatment Support Group

If your teen (or young adult) has an eating disorder—including anorexia or bulimia—you may feel helpless, worried, or uncertain about how you can best support them. Our monthly parent support group— based on principles of FBT—can help.

Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is the leading treatment for teens with eating disorders and it centers the role of parents. Our group provides actionable effective strategies caregivers can implement to support their teens.

As a parent, feeding your child is a fundamental act of love—it has been from the start! However, in the presence of an eating disorder, parents usually lose confidence in performing this basic task. We will help you regain the confidence needed to support your teen and help them recover!

This monthly group is led by Dr. Muhlheim, author of the leading FBT-based book for parents, When Your Teen Has an Eating Disorder, and postdoctoral fellow, Carly Poynter, Psy.D. who has trained in and done research on Family-Based Treatment.

For more information about the group, check out our FBT-Parent Support Group page or contact hello@EDTLA.com. Or you may register for the monthly group (priced at $40) on our group registration page.

Virtual Meal Support Group (Not Currently Meeting)

This group is on hiatus. Our weekly meal support group is open to those struggling with an eating disorder or disordered eating who would like a supportive, recovery-minded space to connect with others while eating a meal or a snack. Our support group is led by our externs, who are supervised by Lauren Muhlheim, Psy., PSY15045. $10 for the month, attend as many times (up to 4) as you would like. Register for the current or next month on our group registration page.

Eating and Body Image Therapy Group for Men (Not Currently Meeting)

Our Eating and Body Image Therapy Group for men will begin Fall of 2023 over Zoom.

This group is for men who are looking for a supportive space to discuss issues around body and eating and/or are looking to add group therapy to their eating disorder recovery. If you are tired of pursuing thinness/fitness or have struggled with disordered eating, and are interested in divesting from diet culture, this group is for you. Through connection we will explore diet culture and the pressures on males to have a perfect body. We will work to heal your relationship with your body and will learn about non-diet approaches to health.

The group will meet weekly on Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm over Zoom and is open to anyone ages 18 and up who identifies as male and is located in the state of California. This group is for you if you are looking for a supportive environment to discuss issues surrounding body image and eating and what it is like to be male in our culture.

The group is led by Jonathan Dang, LMFT, who is passionate about supporting males with eating and body issues. Jonathan is currently pursuing certification as an eating disorder specialist. Learn more about our male eating disorder group. Or for more information, please email hello@EDTLA.com and put “Male Group” in the subject line.