Research on the Family Meal in FBT: The Impact of Parental Direction

Drawing of a family seated around a table, illustrating research on the family meal in Family-Based Treatment (FBT).

TL; DR Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is the leading outpatient therapy for adolescent eating disorders, particularly anorexia. A key component is the family meal, where parents actively encourage their teens to eat, often under the observation of a therapist. Research with 21 families revealed that direct prompts (like urging teens to eat specific foods) were more …

Read more

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

Purple Scrabble tiles asking "How do you know the treatment is really FBT?" for an article on recognizing true Family-Based Treatment.

TL;DR Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is a specialized, evidence-based therapy for children and teens with eating disorders, developed in the 1970s and 1980s. It’s important for parents to differentiate true FBT from general family therapy or other approaches, as not all treatments that claim to be FBT are fully compliant with its structured methodology. Key indicators …

Read more

Presentation at NEDA 2015 conference

Lauren Muhlheim and Katie Grubiak presenting at the NEDA 2015 conference.

Katie and I had the honor of presenting in the Individual, Family, and Friends track at the National Eating Disorder Association Conference in San Diego yesterday.  The title of our talk was:  Family Based Nutrition Therapy:  Creating A Supportive Environment.  It was a chance to share the way we work to support families who are …

Read more

Skip to content