Extensive research over the last two decades highlights Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as the treatment of choice for the majority of adults with anorexia nervosa. CBT-E is an ideal intervention because it’s relatively short-term and is delivered in an outpatient setting which means it’s efficient from a time and financial perspective and causes little disruption to one’s life. In CBT-E, patients work one-on-one with their CBT therapist to uncover the factors that keep their eating problem going – and then systematically they tackle these factors in the treatment.

Given the efficacy and efficiency of CBT-E (generally completed within 40 weeks for anorexia), it is often our first line therapy for those who come to us with anorexia and similar restrictive eating conditions.

Children and Teens with Anorexia should not be treated in the same way or in the same setting as adult patients. Columbus Park approaches anorexia in our youngest patients using evidence-based treatments like Family-Based Treatment, Enhanced CBT (CBT-E), Adolescent-Focused Therapy or DBT-A. When we approach eating disorders in young people, their caregivers are given a central role and are supported with necessary skills to help their child get and stay well.

Body size is not an indicator of the severity of an eating disorder. Many people with anorexia exist in larger bodies; their weight is not an indicator of the severity of their food restriction. Of course, there are some cases where food restriction results in severe weight loss leading to a skeletal appearance, but people can be severely weight suppressed and in a body frame that doesn’t appear emaciated at all. Further, people can be undernourished and not experience weight loss. In a treatment setting with deep expertise, the complex relationship between body weight and food behaviors is well understood and therefore, individuals of all sizes are able to be seen, understood and treated effectively.

Medical stability is a requirement for outpatient treatment and can be established by an internist prior to initiating treatment with us. We also want to be sure that any client entering our practice has an internist who can oversee their medical care throughout the treatment process. There are several other factors including severity of the food restriction, weight suppression, purging and driven exercise frequency that we have to evaluate as we consider appropriateness of our setting. These factors are reviewed during the initial assessment but even over the phone during the first intake call, we can often establish with a reasonable degree of certainty if our setting will be appropriate. Please schedule a complimentary call with us to discuss your needs.