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

College, COVID, and Eating Disorders [Image description: woman with mask in front of computer] represents a potential college student with an eating disorder having online therapy in California

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 an Eating Disorder College Readiness Checklist. The article provides guidance for parents of students entering college after a history of an …

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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 Family-Based Treatment

Online Family-Based Treatment or Video FBT Therapy in Los Angeles, California [Image description: drawing of a teen and her parents in front of a computer screen] Represents a potential teen with an eating disorder and her family receiving online FBT in California

Online Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is an excellent option for busy families. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our therapists were delivering FBT by telehealth. We continue to do so. Read on to learn why this is such an amazing potential treatment for your family. What is Family-Based Treatment? Family-Based Treatment (FBT) has emerged as a …

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With a Little Help From My Family: Who is FBT For?

Meal support for Eating Disorder Recovery in Los Angeles, California [Image description: 2 Asian young women eating together] Depicts a potential young adult supporting a friend in eating disorder recovery in Los Angeles, CA via meal support

Family-Based Treatment–Not Just For Teens–For Adults Too! Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is the leading evidence-based treatment for teens with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. One of the common misbeliefs I hear is that it’s “only for kids or younger teens.” However, I think it has much wider applicability. In fact, I would say that my FBT …

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Getting Your Teen with an Eating Disorder Ready for the First Day Back at School

Getting ready for school with eating disorder [Image description: drawing of a boy with a backpack and lunch box and there is a purple school bus in the background] Represents a teen or child with an eating disorder in Los Angeles, California

It’s almost the first day of school and parents of students with eating disorders have additional concerns to address on top of the usual back-to-school frenzy. Transitions can be tough for all teens—they are especially difficult for those with eating disorders. However, there are some preparations you can make to help things go more smoothly. …

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FBT Treatment Team Members

FBT Treatment Team Including Therapist, Dietitian, and Medical Doctor in Los Angeles, California [Image description: Purple scrabble tiles spelling "FBT Treatment Team"]

Family-based treatment (FBT) is the leading evidence-based treatment for teens with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In an ideal world, every person with an eating disorder would have access to a full treatment team. This team could include a therapist, a dietitian, a medical doctor, and a psychiatrist. However, manualized FBT calls only for a …

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When Your Teen With an Eating Disorder is Sick….

When your teen with an eating disorder is sick during recovery [Image description: drawing of a daughter in bed and appears ill and her mother is holding her head and a thermometer] Represents a parent caring for a teen with an eating disorder in Los Angeles, California

Guest post by Dr. Jennifer Johnson What if Your Teen With an Eating Disorder is Sick? One of the most common questions that arise when parents are renourishing a teen with an eating disorder is what to do when they get sick. Parents are sometimes totally overwhelmed when that happens. Some families may back off …

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This Halloween, Serve Candy to Your Teen in Recovery

Halloween Candy

A Family-Based Treatment (FBT)-approach Halloween can be scary for teens with eating disorders for the wrong reason: the candy! Most teens with eating disorders are only willing to eat a restricted range of foods. Expanding this range is an important goal of treatment, with the reintroduction of fear foods being a key step. Candy tends …

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Family-Based Treatment Can Help Depression and Self-Esteem Too!

FBT Depression and Self-Esteem

  Family-Based Treatment Family-based treatment (FBT) is the leading evidence-based treatment for teen eating disorders. It represents a paradigm shift from older treatments that focused on helping teens become independent from their parents in order to recover from their eating disorders. In FBT, parents are central members of the treatment team. Parents are charged with …

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Are We Setting Recovery Weights Too Low?

Recovery Weight

Defining Eating Disorder Recovery Plenary on Defining Recovery At the 2018 International Conference on Eating Disorders (ICED) in Chicago, I attended a plenary, Recovery from an Eating Disorder: How Do We Define It? What Does It Look Like? And Should It Always be the Focus? During this plenary, Anna Bardone-Cone, Ph.D. spoke about the essential …

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