Treatment
Firstly
Seeking Help
Early intervention is key to the most successful and long term recovery from an eating disorder. Firstly, my advice is that your first point of contact should be visiting your GP.
From there, you will need regular monitoring, blood tests, ECG/EKG, weight checks etc..
Access resources available to you, to develop a network around you - your doctor should arrange this for you (but systems may vary in different countries.)
Typically you will need;
- Medical doctor/nurse
- A dietician/nutritionist
- Therapist
Etc...
Treatment
There are many different treatment types and almost all will require regular nutrition and monitoring, maybe to include a diet plan, possibly weight restoration if needed. Therapy will typically be involved.
Types of treatment may include;
- General hospitalisation for stabilisation
- Eating disorder centres, facilities for Inpatient/Residential care
- PHP - Partial hospitalisation
- Outpatient/Community based care
Talking Therapy
There are also lots of different types of therapies including, individual and group work, family therapy, couples therapy, marriage counselling...
I have found that therapy is certainly not "one size fits all " as everyone responds uniquely to differing approaches. I think that therapy is a bit like learning a language, it's whichever one speaks to you in a way that you understand.
Common types of therapies include;
- CBT- Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
- DBT - Dialectical Behavioural Therapy
- ERP - Exposure Response Prevention
- EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing
- Psychodynamic psychotherapy
- Psychoanalytic psychotherapy
- Gestalt therapy
- Drama therapy
- Music therapy
- Art therapy
And many more......
continued ...
Why should I try therapy ?
Sometimes it's easier to talk to someone who you don't know and who doesn't know you...somewhere where there will be no judgement and no rights or wrongs.
A trained therapist or counsellor will listen to you and will help you work through any problems, issues, worries, stressors, trauma... that you may be having. It is your opportunity for honesty, your time to find clarity, to find resolve etc...It is your time to use how you wish. Your sessions are completely private, you will have time to talk, think, shout or cry, it is your time to look at your problems in a different way and with a different perspective.
Therapy usually takes place face to face, but it can also be done over the phone or by using email, Skype or Zoom. The aim of therapy is to simply make you feel better. Therapy may make your problems go away or it will allow you to find coping mechanisms and ways to manage them in a healthy and safe way.
