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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Ten Facts About Weight Stigma – Guest post by Liliana Almeida, Ph.D.

Weight Stigm [Image description: larger black woman holding towel that says "wide load"]

  Weight stigma is a bias or discrimination relating directly to weight. Despite the fact that more than half of U.S. citizens are larger-bodied, our society holds a strong negative bias against fatness. The media reinforces weight stigma. The media, such as news media, displays persons in larger bodies in stigmatizing ways by depicting them …

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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

family at family meal in FBT [Image description: a family with their backs to us sits around a table] Represents a potential family in California receiving FBT for their teens eating disorder

Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is the best-researched outpatient treatment for teen eating disorders, including anorexia. In FBT, the family plays a central role in treatment. Through family meals, parents restore their teens to health and interrupt eating disorder behaviors. In FBT, parents plan, prepare, serve, and supervise meals. Usually, parents are left wondering 1) how to …

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Recognizing and Managing the Subtler Signs of Starvation in Children with EDs

Signs of Anorexia

This interaction on twitter caught my eye: Watching cooking shows, collecting and reading recipes, and cooking for others (but not eating it oneself) are some of the earliest signs of anorexia that are often missed and misinterpreted by parents.  In Keys’ landmark study “The Biology of Human Starvation” male volunteers were put on starvation diets.  …

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Traveling With a Teen With Anorexia

Traveling With Your Anorexic

By Lauren Muhlheim, Psy.D. and Therese Waterhous, Ph.D. Traveling with a Teen With Anorexia can feel like you are literally “traveling with anorexia” –like a monster has joined your trip. Learn more about the risks and consider carefully before proceeding. Traveling With A Teen With Anorexia in Phase 1 Families often ask whether they should …

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Exposure in the treatment of Eating Disorders

Exposure therapy is widely recognized as a necessary (and sometimes sufficient) ingredient of treatment for most of the anxiety disorders including phobias, panic disorder, and obsessive compulsive disorder.  Anxiety is a core psychological feature of anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.  However, instead of being afraid of heights, speaking in public, having a heart attack, or contamination, individuals with eating disorders are primarily afraid of food, eating, and shape and weight.

Both cognitive-behavioral therapy and family based treatment, two empirically validated treatments for eating disorders, employ exposure techniques.  Exposure works through the process of habituation, the natural neurologically-based tendency to get used to things to which you are exposed for a long time.   During exposure, habituation occurs as people acclimate to their fear and come to realize that nothing actually dangerous is occurring. Habituation promotes new learning of safety, tolerance of fear feelings, and extinction of the fear avoidance urge. 

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Starting FBT: Surviving The First Week of Re-Feeding

Surviving The First Week of Re-feeding Your Teen Using Family-Based Treatment In Family-Based Treatment (FBT), figuring out how to get your starving child to eat and gain weight is a daunting task. Parents often feel overwhelmed and helpless when starting out on a re-feeding program. It is important to remember that your child is literally …

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Family-based treatment for adolescent eating disorders

Eating disorders, including Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa, are affecting greater numbers of adolescents and even children and early intervention is critical. If not identified or treated early, eating disorders can become chronic and cause serious or even life-threatening medical problems. Anorexia Nervosa is the most dangerous, with the highest death rate, of any mental …

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