Eating disorders require specialized, research-backed care. As a Center of Excellence, our clinic uses the most effective, evidence-based treatments available. The therapies listed below are embedded in our programs. 

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

All of our programs utilize DBT, an evidence-based treatment widely regarded as the “gold standard” for addressing emotion regulation difficulties. DBT theorizes that certain behaviors, such as eating disorder behaviors, substance abuse, and self-harm, all serve a function of numbing or distracting from painful emotions. Thus, an important focus in DBT is on teaching patients skills that they can use in place of behaviors to regulate their emotions. 

DBT aims to help individuals understand and accept their difficult feelings, learn skills to manage them, and reduce or stop problematic behaviors. DBT therapists focus on using acceptance, validation, and skill-building to help people feel more motivated and capable of making changes. There are several main areas of skills we teach in our programs. 

1. Mindfulness: We teach patients to use mindfulness to be nonjudgmental and present and in the moment. This helps them to become aware of their thoughts, emotions and urges, and learn to be less reactive. 
2. Distress Tolerance (DT): DT skills help patients to tolerate the moment and resist urges to avoid or escape. DT skills provide effective options besides using maladaptive behaviors when feeling dysregulated. 
3. Emotion Regulation (ER): Many patients with eating disorders have a hard time recognizing emotions (alexithymia), and/or experience extremely painful or labile emotions. ER skills help individuals learn to experience emotions, change unhelpful emotional reactions, and reduce vulnerability to unwanted emotions. 
4. Interpersonal Effectiveness (IE): Patients often report that they have difficulty asserting themselves effectively in interpersonal situations. IE skills teach people to communicate effectively, advocate for what they need, build healthy relationships, and navigate conflict.

In our programs, we implement DBT in a targeted way, depending on the age of the patients. Our Adult program offers comprehensive, fully adherent DBT, which includes the four core components: 1) individual therapy, 2) DBT skills groups, 3) phone coaching, and 4) a consultation team that ensures the therapist delivers the treatment with precision and effectiveness. Our Adolescent program offers a blend of comprehensive DBT with Family Based Therapy (FBT), and include Multi-Family DBT groups so that parents can learn and reinforce the skills their children are being taught. Our Pediatric program is primarily guided by FBT and Cognitive Behavior Therapy and offers DBT skills groups. Our entire treatment team is intensively trained in DBT to provide the highest level of care and achieve optimal outcomes for our patients. 

Family Based Treatment (FBT)

FBT for eating disorders, particularly anorexia nervosa, is a therapeutic approach that actively involves the family in the recovery process. Unlike traditional individual therapy, FBT empowers parents to take a central role in managing their child’s eating behaviors and nutritional rehabilitation. The treatment typically unfolds in three phases: initially, parents are empowered to manage their child’s eating to restore weight and stabilize health; next, eating autonomy is gradually handed back to the adolescent; and finally, the focus shifts to addressing broader developmental issues and helping the young person regain typical adolescent functioning. In our PHP setting, treatment is typically focused on phase one, while some families eventually move into phase two as treatment progresses.  

The strength of FBT lies in its collaborative and non-confrontational stance, fostering a supportive environment where family members work together to combat the eating disorder. FBT is evidence-based and has shown significant success in improving outcomes for adolescents with anorexia and other restrictive eating disorders. It emphasizes open communication, shared responsibility, and the rebuilding of trust within the family unit. By involving the family directly, FBT helps reduce the isolation often experienced by young people with eating disorders, promoting sustained recovery and resilience. This approach also encourages parents to become advocates for their child’s health, empowering them with skills to identify early warning signs and prevent relapse. 

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT teaches individuals to identify the connection between their thoughts, behaviors and emotions. Negative patterns of thought, cognitive distortions, about oneself and the world are challenged in order to change unwanted or unhelpful behavior patterns. For individuals with eating disorders, it may also be helpful to identify body sensations that may elicit negative thoughts associated with food or eating and challenge these in treatment. CBT has been found to be effective in the treatment of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders for individuals of all ages. 

There are two CBT-based treatments that were developed specifically for eating disorders. Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-E) is a transdiagnostic treatment for anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder and OSFED. Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for ARFID (CBT-AR) is a treatment developed specifically for children, adolescents and adults with ARFID. Both treatments are highly individualized to target the specific symptoms and eating difficulties that individuals with these disorders are experiencing. 

Exposure/Response Prevention (ERP)

ERP is a powerful tool in treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and anxiety disorders. The intervention exposes individuals to situations or objects that trigger their anxiety while preventing them from engaging in safety behaviors. This process helps individuals learn that their feared outcomes are unlikely to occur and that they can tolerate the anxiety associated with their thoughts. ERP is used in the treatment of eating disorders because they often co-occur with anxiety disorders and because the brain mechanisms that drive anxiety are similar to those that drive eating disorder thoughts and behaviors.