Eating Disorder Treatment Options

When you are trying to recover from an eating disorder you have enough on your plate yet alone trying to figure out the best kind of treatment options. So I thought I would be of some help and let you know what is available. Because the options will vary city to city I will give you more of a run down based on what is in Vancouver with some other suggestions that may help you if you live elsewhere. Check back in 2 weeks because I will follow this post up with pros and cons for each form of treatment

• Online Information:
  • www.somethingfishy.org
  • www.lookingglass.com (they have an online support group!)
  • http://www.nedic.ca
  • http://keltyeatingdisorders.ca/

• Support Groups: There are support groups run through many different organizations and institutions. Many of the Health Authorities (hospitals) have programs that are offered as an outpatient service, or you can look into private support groups run by counsellors or non-profit organizations. If you are interested in this option then google eating disorder support groups plus your city name (if you aren’t in Vancouver) and hopefully some leads will come up. Some examples of these in Vancouver are:
  • The Looking Glass Foundation Support Groups
  • ThriveBC Support Groups
  • Vancouver Coastal Health http://www.vch.ca/your_health/health_topics/eating-disorders/
  • Fraser Health http://www.fraserhealth.ca/find_us/services/our_services?program_id=9834
  • Kelty Eating Disorders
  • Counsellors: There are clincians who specialize in eating disorders who can offer you great support in private therapy sessions. You can find counsellors in your city who specialize in eating disorders by searching for them in Google. Without getting into the pros and cons about this before the next post, I will recommend that you find someone who specializes in eating disorders over someone who doesn’t.
  • In Patient Treatment: Hospitals offer inpatient treatment services where you live on site. In patient treatment is for those that require medical stabilization. These programs often are multi-faceted and have doctors, dieticians, and counsellors on staff. In this type of treatment you live at the hospital for a certain period of time and are monitored by their staff consistently.
  • Out-Patient Treatment: Certain hospitals have outpatient day programs that they offer which include medical, dietician, and group counselling support. Certain out-patient programs are more intensive than the hospital support groups alone. There are also outpatient programs where, in the case of Vancouver, you go and live in a house with other people going through recovery. This program allows you to engage in some of your daily activities outside of the house while coming back to the safety of a residence that is focused on supporting you to recover. There are dieticians and counsellors on staff and it can help transition you from the hospital back into day-to-day life.
  • Treatment Facilities: Treatment facilities also offer you round the clock support but with a very different feel than the hospital. There are counsellors, dieticians and usually a doctor on staff and these programs usually focus on recovery from a “whole person” perspective. There are activities, counselling sessions as well as meal support and nutrition education. These are typically run privately however Looking Glass runs Woodstone Residence which has a publically funded portion.

Those are the most common options of treatment out there. Hopefully you, or your loved one, can find something that works for them and that helps support them to take the first steps towards recovery.

Check back in 2 weeks for the pros and cons of each of these, or if you have some other treatment options that haven’t been listed, post them in the comment section below!