Eating Disorder Treatment Centers: What They Are and How They Can Help

Eating disorder treatment centers, also known as eating recovery centers, provide support and treatment for people who struggle with their relationship with their food or suffer from disordered eating. These facilities can give patients structured support from an array of appropriate professionals throughout the recovery process. There are many options, including inpatient and intensive outpatient programs, although accessibility can vary depending on factors such as location and insurance. 

Types of Facilities and Programs

There are several different levels of care (LOC) that may be recommended for people struggling with disordered eating. These include:

• Inpatient (Hospital-Based Treatment): This is a short term care option used in severe cases where the patient’s health is at immediate risk. They are put under 24/7 supervision and stabilized before being transferred to the next appropriate phase of care. 
• Residential Treatment Centers: Patients live at the facility for an extended period of time and their activities are monitored while they receive treatment. 
• Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP): Patients go into the treatment center during the day and go home at night. This may be every day or just week days. 
• Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP): Patients do not stay at the facility for extended periods of time, but attend for therapeutic and medical intervention for a few hours 3 to 5 times per week. 
• Standard Outpatient Treatment: This is what people usually think of when you say “therapy”: weekly or bi-weekly meetings with a therapist, as well as any further support groups or medical interventions they choose to engage in during their free time. 

All of these options typically involve a combination of various therapeutic strategies, as well as pharmacological interventions to address underlying conditions.

Strategies and Modalities

The specific strategies used by eating disorder treatment centers and in what combination depend on the specific needs of each person. A high-quality treatment center will tailor the treatment to the individual and collaborate with other professionals as needed. Some common therapeutic interventions include:

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT / CBT-E): CBT revolves around identifying and changing harmful thought patterns, while CBT-E (enhanced cognitive behavioral therapy) is a specialized form of CBT developed for and focused on the treatment of eating disorders. 
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): DBT focuses on developing skills to improve impulse control and emotional regulation. 
• Family-Based Treatment (FBT): This is a treatment usually used for younger patients, and encourages parents to take an active role in encouraging healthier eating patterns. 
• Psychodynamic Therapy: Psychodynamic therapy focuses on the roots of disordered eating and delves into past experiences. 
• Structured Meal Support: Meals and snacks are supervised and supported by professionals.
• Meal Planning & Nutrition Counseling:Professionals help you break unhealthy “food rules” and create healthier eating habits and schedules. They will also help you re-learn hunger queues. 
• Exposure Therapy: Exposure therapy for disordered eating involves gradual exposure to feared foods and situations such as looking in the mirror. 
• Habit Reversal & Behavior Tracking: Patients identify problem behaviors and triggers and learn healthier coping strategies. They also keep track of these behaviors over time with their therapist in order to prevent relapse. 

Therapy for disordered eating will also typically seek to identify any underlying conditions or lifestyle problems that may contribute to disordered eating, such as poor sleep or overuse of social media. 

The Future of Treatment Centers

There are many improvements we can expect in the future from eating disorder treatment centers and behavioral health treatment as a whole. Much of this improvement is expected to revolve around even further personalization of treatment, as well as increased collaboration between professionals. This will be facilitated by evidence-based treatment development strategies and advanced technologies such as AI and EHR.