Although the word “crisis” is sometimes overused, most would agree that when a family faces a serious illness such as anorexia, use of this word is justified. Here are the statistics: for females ages 15 to 24 who suffer from anorexia nervosa, the mortality rate is twelve times higher than the death rate of all other causes of death. Adolescents make up much of this group; 40% of newly identified cases of anorexia are in girls 1519 years old.
What would you do if your child developed anorexia? Laura Collins, founder of F.E.A.S.T.* (Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders) has generously shared her family’s story with Examiner.com. Read on to learn about an innovative treatment approach.
Our family’s life fell down a rabbit hole in 2002. Our daughter, then 14, developed an eating disorder and we were completely unprepared. We knew little about the issue, had no idea how we should respond, and we feared for her life. Since then we learned that no family is prepared, and that no family responds perfectly from the start. We learned, slowly, that not only was this a treatable illness but that we as parents had an enormous positive role to play.
We chose an option that at the time was quite rare and controversial: the Family-Based Therapy (Maudsley approach). Now considered the “gold standard” of care for children and adolescents, therapists use the Maudsley Approach to enlist parents to take on responsibility for normalizing food and mealtimes in the early stages of treatment. Later, the family is coached in how to safely return that responsibility and then to normalize relationships and adolescent life. Although not yet widely available, the approach offers higher rates of successful treatment and a ray of hope in a field that has struggled to find ways to help patients achieve lasting recovery.
We were fortunate: with very hard work by our whole family and good clinical care our daughter recovered and went on with her life. Since then I have been on a mission to make sure more families get the information they need earlier: early and assertive intervention offers the best hope for full recovery. In recent years I have been encouraged and overjoyed to see real changes in how families are informed and involved in care. It is no longer controversial for parents to be involved, and research on the physiological and genetic roots of the condition offer more hope every year.
From what I’ve learned, I want parents to know:
· Eating disorders are treatable – stick with your loved one all the way to full recovery.
· Food is medicine: without normalizing weight and eating a patient cannot fight the thoughts and behaviors locking them into the disorder.
· It’s not the patient’s fault, and not your fault either.
· Work with treatment teams with both experience and recent training specific to eating disorders.
· There is no magic wand, but there is magic in a family’s love and support.
Laura’s story is not unique. Research has shown that for adolescents, Family Based Therapy is highly effective: in a recent study of teens treated using FBT, 49.3 percent achieved full remission. While FBT is a definite commitment for families, who eat all meals with their child, it can be a lifesaver.
Dr. Ellen Davis, cofounder of Woodland Forge in Phoenixville, Pa., is a strong advocate for FBT. “I used to practice traditional psychotherapy with patients with anorexia,” she says, “The recovery time for most adolescents was between 2-3 years. It’s much quicker with FBT. With a younger adolescent I can move them to the point where a parent will say ‘I have my kid back’ in 9-10 months. It’s an amazing approach.”
There are three stages to FBT. The first stage focuses on weight restoration. In this stage parents are solely responsible for food preparation, and eat every meal and snack with the adolescent. When weight begins to reach a healthier level and there is no resistance around eating, control over meals is gradually returned to the teen (phase two). Phase three is more akin to traditional therapy and addresses the psychological, environmental or family issues that contributed to the eating disorder.
Thank you Laura!
For more information on FBT/Maudsley Approach, as well as local treatment options, please see the links below.
Resources:
* F.E.A.S.T. is an international organization of and for parents and caregivers to help loved ones recover from eating disorders by providing information and mutual support, promoting evidence-based treatment, and advocating for research and education to reduce the suffering associated with eating disorders.
F.E.A.S.T. Treatment Provider Directory
http://www.feast-ed.org/Clinics/TreatmentDirectory.aspx
F.E.A.S.T.’s International Conference for Parents of Eating Disorder Patients
http://feast-ed.org/Alexandria2011.aspx
Other treatment providers in Pa and NJ:
Maudsley Parents http://www.maudsleyparents.org/providerlist.html
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