Eating disorder treatment is not an exact science. Many doctors and researchers still do not fully understand eating disorders, and therefore there are no set methods of eating disorders treatment. However, eating disorders are treatable and a healthy weight and mindset can be restored. With any disorder, the sooner the problem is discovered and diagnosed, and the sooner treatment begins, the better the outcome is likely to be.
As a result of their complexity, eating disorder programs require a comprehensive treatment plan that usually involves medical care and close monitoring, nutritional counseling, psychological treatment and interventions if necessary, and if appropriate, medication. The first step in treatment begins as soon as the patient arrives at the hospital or doctor’s office. Once a person seeks eating disorders help, the doctor who is diagnosing the disorder must determine whether the patient is in immediate danger and requires hospitalization.
Anorexia Treatment
Treatment for anorexia nervosa usually calls for a very specific program involving three phases:
- Restoring weight loss due to severe dieting and purging
- Treating the psychological elements such as body image distortion and low self-esteem
- Working to achieve long-term remission and full recovery
With anorexia treatment, early diagnosis dramatically increases the treatment success rate. Some eating disorder programs also utilize psychotropic medication in treatment for anorexia nervosa, but it is important not to add this element of treatment until after weight gain has been established. Some selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have also been shown as helpful in maintaining weight and also resolving some of the secondary symptoms such as mood and anxiety.
Most anorexia treatment takes place in an inpatient hospital setting so that caretakers can utilize a strict feeding plan to address the patient’s medical and nutritional needs. This is the most important first step, helping the patient regain the severe amounts of weight they have lost. Once their malnutrition is beginning to be reversed, eating disorder support in the form of psychotherapy can begin. This treatment usually involves either cognitive-behavioral or interpersonal psychotherapy and can help patients overcome the low self-esteem and distorted thought and behavior patterns. Families can be an important part of this process.
Bulimia Treatment
The primary goal of the treatment of bulimia is to reduce, and ultimately, end the binge eating and purging behavior. To accomplish this goal, psychosocial intervention, nutritional rehabilitation, and even medication are used. It is important to establish regular, non-binge meals, as well as improving the patient’s attitudes related to the eating disorder and encouraging healthy (not excessive) exercise. It is also important to treat other conditions that may occur as well, such as mood and anxiety disorders.
Individual therapy and sometimes group therapy is used in bulimia treatment. If needed, psychotropic medications, such as antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors have been found to be extremely successful in the treatment of bulimia, especially those who have not responded well to psychological treatment alone. These medicines may also help prevent a relapse.
One of the most important elements of eating disorder recovery involves support, from family members and also people who have undergone treatment in the past and are survivors of eating disorders. Eating disorder support groups are vital to the continued treatment for bulimia and treatment for anorexia nervosa.
Most people with eating disorders do not recognize or want to admit that they are sick, which results in a strong resistance to getting and staying in treatment. It is important for family members and other trusted friends to help ensure the patient receives the needed care and rehabilitation. Long term treatment is not uncommon for many who suffer from an eating disorder.
The underlying causes of eating disorders are still unclear to researchers. They are not considered to be a complete neurological disorder, which is usually characterized by a lesion on the brain. An eating disorder is classified as an irregular activity across the brain’s systems. Because of these differences, researchers must use tools from neuroscience, as well as psychology to better understand eating disorders, and therefore develop a new methodology for eating disorder treatment.
As more and more doctors and researchers begin to examine eating disorders as medical illnesses, these questions will begin to be answered, and the treatment for eating disorders will become a more exact science, therefore helping more people achieve a healthy weight and mindset.
[page updated February 2009]