![Family-Based Treatment with divorced families [Image description: a black and white drawing of a family of 4 with a tear between the 2 parents] Representing a possible family seeking FBT in Los Angeles, CA](https://www.eatingdisordertherapyla.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/family-3090056_1920-1024x683.jpg)
A common question is whether Family-Based Treatment (FBT) works with separated and divorced families. The answer is definitely yes! The treatment can be implemented in a variety of family configurations as long as at least one parent or guardian is involved in the treatment. But, there is to date, little written about this. Research does …
![Supporting Child with Eating Disorder Over Holiday in Los Angeles, California [Image description: photo of a Black family preparing a meal together and all the family members are dressed up] represents a potential family supporting a loved one with an eating disorder during the holidays](https://www.eatingdisordertherapyla.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/pexels-august-de-richelieu-4262010.jpg)
By Carly Poynter, AMFT, staff therapist The holidays are a challenging time to navigate for most people. The holidays are even more challenging for those who struggle with their relationship with food. As we prepare for the holiday feasts and festivities, there are a few things to consider, especially when you have a child or …
![Individual therapy in FBT [Image description: photo of a teen seated and facing an adult] Represents a potential teen client in therapy for an eating disorder in Los Angeles, California](https://www.eatingdisordertherapyla.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/priscilla-du-preez-F9DFuJoS9EU-unsplash.jpg)
When I am working as the Family-Based Treatment (FBT) therapist for a teen in eating disorder recovery, their parents will often ask whether the teen should also see a therapist individually. Unlike other therapy situations, in FBT there is no expectation that there is both an individual therapist and a family therapist. It’s there in …
![Meal support for Eating Disorder Recovery in Los Angeles, California [Image description: 2 Asian young women eating together] Depicts a potential young adult supporting a friend in eating disorder recovery in Los Angeles, CA via meal support](https://www.eatingdisordertherapyla.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/My-project2.png)
Family-Based Treatment–Not Just For Teens–For Adults Too! Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is the leading evidence-based treatment for teens with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. One of the common misbeliefs I hear is that it’s “only for kids or younger teens.” However, I think it has much wider applicability. In fact, I would say that my FBT …
![When your teen with an eating disorder is sick during recovery [Image description: drawing of a daughter in bed and appears ill and her mother is holding her head and a thermometer] Represents a parent caring for a teen with an eating disorder in Los Angeles, California](https://www.eatingdisordertherapyla.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/My-project4.png)
Guest post by Dr. Jennifer Johnson What if Your Teen With an Eating Disorder is Sick? One of the most common questions that arise when parents are renourishing a teen with an eating disorder is what to do when they get sick. Parents are sometimes totally overwhelmed when that happens. Some families may back off …
I often write about the importance of including parents in the treatment of adolescents and young adults. My work is informed by my training in Family-based Treatment (FBT). A central component of this treatment is empowering parents to help their ailing children with eating disorders return to health. When asked why families should be the …
I recently began volunteering at the Best Friends Neonatal Kitten Nursery. Best Friends Los Angeles opened its neonatal kitten nursery in February 2013. The nursery is staffed with a dedicated coordinator and supported by volunteers who sign up for two hour feeding shifts 24 hours a day to help the kittens grow and thrive. If …
![Weight Stigm [Image description: larger black woman holding towel that says "wide load"]](https://www.eatingdisordertherapyla.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2A2A7696-1.jpg)
Weight stigma is a bias or discrimination relating directly to weight. Despite the fact that more than half of U.S. citizens are larger-bodied, our society holds a strong negative bias against fatness. The media reinforces weight stigma. The media, such as news media, displays persons in larger bodies in stigmatizing ways by depicting them …
![family at family meal in FBT [Image description: a family with their backs to us sits around a table] Represents a potential family in California receiving FBT for their teens eating disorder](https://www.eatingdisordertherapyla.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/DALL·E-2023-12-01-19.14.32-a-family-is-seated-around-a-brown-conference-table.-There-are-2-parents-and-2-teenagers-sitting-and-their-backs-are-to-us.-Off-to-the-side-a-therapist5.png)
Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is the best-researched outpatient treatment for teen eating disorders, including anorexia. In FBT, the family plays a central role in treatment. Through family meals, parents restore their teens to health and interrupt eating disorder behaviors. In FBT, parents plan, prepare, serve, and supervise meals. Usually, parents are left wondering 1) how to …
This interaction on twitter caught my eye: Watching cooking shows, collecting and reading recipes, and cooking for others (but not eating it oneself) are some of the earliest signs of anorexia that are often missed and misinterpreted by parents. In Keys’ landmark study “The Biology of Human Starvation” male volunteers were put on starvation diets. …