Studies indicate that a multidisciplinary approach to eating disorders recovery is associated with enhanced treatment effectiveness and is in keeping with recommended “best practices” within the field. A “multidisciplinary approach” to eating disorders may include treatment professionals from a variety of disciplines but should include, at minimum, a mental health professional, a medical doctor, and a nutritionist (look for details about the role of the dietitian or nutrition therapist in…

If you are in recovery from an eating disorder, you are probably familiar with the idea of keeping a food diary (also called a food record or food journal). Food diaries can be extremely useful when working with eating disorders, however, they are not recommended for everyone (I’ll say more about that in a minute). The basic premise is that a client may be asked to keep a written record…

With honest self-assessment, how often would you say that you: 1. Encourage someone that you know to diet? 2. Criticize someone else’s eating habits? 3. Admire weight loss or rigidly controlled eating? 4. Make negative comments about your own, or someone else’s, weight? 5. Hold disapproving attitudes about over-eaters? 6. Presume that a fat person should lose wight? 7. Refer to foods as either “good” or “bad”? 8. Compliment someone…

In a recent post, I spoke about the danger of the misuse of prescription diabetes medication by patients seeking to maximize weight-loss caused by this medication’s side-effects. Today, I want to discuss a substance that poses perhaps an even greater risk. It’s something that most parents have in their medicine cabinets; it is available without a prescription; it is a common over-the-counter medication (OTC); and it is associated with perhaps…

How old does Kathy look to you? (Click here) Although she has lost her teeth and has the bones of an 80-year-old, when this photo was taken, Kathy was only 48 years-old. [Source: Greenfield, L. (2006). Thin. San Fransisco: Chronicle Books.] Kathy is like many with a history of eating disorders who face an increased risk of osteoporosis. Even at a young age, patients with anorexia and bulimia dramatically increase…

Question from an interested reader: Is DBT useful for eating disorders patients? Answer from “Treatment Notes”: One recent development in the contemporary treatment of eating disorders is the use of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) as a treatment approach. You may be familiar with DBT, as developed by psychologist Marsha Linehan, for use with patients who are diagnosed with borderline personality disorder or demonstrate suicidal behaviors. Recent DBT studies show some…

If you have a loved one who has been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, you should be aware of a recently recognized form of purging that is becoming an increasing concern: diabulimia. Diabulimia refers to the practice of Type I diabetes patients (usually females) omitting their insulin injections in order to avoid weight gain. As you know, Type I diabetes patients are dependent on daily insulin shots in order to regulate…

When was the last time you asked your kids about their on-line activity? You know, you really should- especially if they may be at risk for an eating disorder. An estimated 200 million Americans and 700 million people worldwide access the Web for information and two-thirds of Internet users report seeking health-related information on-line. Studies show that more than half of those who search health-related content on the Web are…

You have undoubtedly heard the statistic before; Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. Indeed, the premature death rate among people with anorexia is about 12 times higher than the annual death rate due to all causes of death among females ages 15-24 in the general population (Sullivan, 1995; Park, 2007). What you may not have known is that a large percentage of those deaths do…

True or False: A person with an eating disorder is addicted to food… The answer is: False Does that surprise you? One of the most frequently encountered misconceptions about binge eating (also called compulsive overeating by some) is that it constitutes an addiction. We hear patients say this about themselves all the time. Amy (not her real name) sat in my office just this week, Kleenex in hand, stained mascara…