FBT with Separated and Divorced Families

Family-Based Treatment with divorced families [Image description: a black and white drawing of a family of 4 with a tear between the 2 parents] Representing a possible family seeking FBT in Los Angeles, CA

I am often asked if Family-Based Treatment (FBT) works with separated and divorced families. The answer is definitely yes! The treatment can be implemented in a variety of family configurations as long as at least one parent or guardian is involved in the treatment. But, there is to date, little written about this. Research does …

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Supporting your Child or Other Loved One with an Eating Disorder Through the Holidays

Supporting Child with Eating Disorder Over Holiday

By Carly Poynter, AMFT, staff therapist The holidays are a challenging time to navigate for most people. The holidays are even more challenging for those who struggle with their relationship with food. As we prepare for the holiday feasts and festivities, there are a few things to consider, especially when you have a child or …

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When to Add an Individual Therapist in FBT-Phase 1

Individual therapy in FBT

When I am working as the Family-Based Treatment (FBT) therapist for a teen in eating disorder recovery, their parents will often ask whether the teen should also see a therapist individually. Unlike other therapy situations, in FBT there is no expectation that there is both an individual therapist and a family therapist. It’s there in …

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What Parents of Teens with Eating Disorders Need to Understand About Diet Culture

What Parents Need to Know About Diet Culture

  Many parents experience guilt when their teen is diagnosed with an eating disorder. Nearly every parent can point to a time they themselves dieted, opted not to have a dessert they really wanted, expressed a preference toward thinness, or discouraged their child from keeping eating. You may have done things to try to keep …

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Externalizing an Eating Disorder: When, Why, and How Do You Do That and Who is “Ed” Anyway?

Externalizing your eating disorder

Externalizing an eating disorder is a therapeutic strategy that became more widely known through Jenni Schaefer’s book Life Without Ed, cowritten with her therapist Thom Rutledge. The book summarizes Jenni’s recovery from an eating disorder. Jenni describes how in her treatment she learned to personify the eating disorder as “Ed,” an abusive boyfriend. As explained in …

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How do I Parent My Teen During Family-Based Treatment? When to Set Limits

Parents doing Family-Based Treatment (FBT) often struggle with “normal parenting concerns” and setting limits while doing FBT. They’re refeeding their teens at home, doing the hard work often done by professional staff at treatment centers, but they still have to parent. It’s exhausting. Their teens who have eating disorders are often experiencing the psychological and …

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How We Set Recovery Weights

Recovery Weight [Image description: doctor scale] How we set recovery weights in eating disorder treatment

If you have an eating disorder, or your child has one, there is a good chance that weight gain will be an essential part of the recovery process. This is true not just for people in objectively small bodies, but also for people in larger bodies who are diagnosed with Atypical Anorexia, a weight-biased diagnostic …

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College, COVID, and Eating Disorders: What You Need to Know

College, COVID, and Eating Disorders [Image description: woman with mask in front of computer]

  As I’ve talked about in depth, the transition to college away from home is challenging for most young adults. It is especially fraught for young adults with eating disorders. In that article, I provided a College Readiness Checklist for students who are either considering their first move away from home after a history of …

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Adjunctive Therapies to FBT: What are the Additional Therapies That May be Added to FBT? And When Should They Be Added?

Image Description: Paper in window that reads "Mindfulness" Adjunctive therapies that go alongside FBT for Eating Disorders

In a previous post, I have discussed who is typically on an FBT team. In its traditional manualized form, the core team is a therapist, a medical doctor, and the parents. The team can also include a registered dietitian nutritionist (to guide the parents) and may include a psychiatrist. It is not uncommon for medical …

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Online FBT in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic

FBT Telehealth Covid

Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our therapists were delivering FBT by telehealth. We continue to do so. One of the most significant impacts of social distancing was a change in the mode of delivery of psychological treatment. Most outpatient therapists, dietitians, and medical doctors moved entirely to telehealth sessions (over the computer). Even many …

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