What Are the Treatment Options for Anorexia?

Anorexia nervosa is a serious but treatable disorder that affects people worldwide. Effective treatment is the best way to recover from anorexia, without it patients will likely face an uphill battle filled with complications. With help from a professional treatment facility like Aster Springs, people suffering from anorexia can obtain the right treatment plans and care that foster eating habits to help patients initiate adequate nutrition for weight restoration. Read on to learn what treatment options are available for anorexia and how they can help the people they are designed for.

Treatment Approaches for Anorexia

When anorexia cases are diagnosed and evaluated, patients receive specific treatment programs that can come with a few different approaches. Depending on your case’s severity, other factors like age, level of participation, and the length of stay required. Typically, the treatment approaches will fall under one of these three buckets.

Holistic Treatment

Holistic treatment approaches take each patient individually and assign therapies meant to impact their mind and body. These programs improve a client’s mental state, help create healthy eating patterns, address trauma and align the patient’s spirit with the other two elements.

Co-occurring Treatment

Sometimes, eating disorders like anorexia come with additional disorders or mental health concerns. Co-occurring treatments are designed to address multiple conditions at a time, to heal underlying concerns creating eating disorder patterns and prevent from oscillation of negative coping skills.

Alternative Treatment

Sometimes, certain treatment facilities employ alternative treatments for anorexia that may not be the norm but are effective for individual cases. Options such as body awareness therapy, yoga, adventure therapy, acupuncture, relaxation therapy, and bodily feedback can all be combined to address specific circumstances.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Psychotherapy modalities are effective ways to treat anorexia. CBT is an evidence-based treatment modality commonly used in treating eating disorders. CBT is a form of talk therapy helping individuals sift through negative thoughts and emotions in smaller parts while identifying which thoughts are true based on evidence.

Maudsley Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults (MANTRA)

The Maudsley Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults is another form of psychotherapy designed over seven modules occurring throughout 20 to 40 sessions. MANTRA was intended for patients with low motivation, a lack of flexibility in their viewpoints on their situation, and patients lacking a strong support system to help them cope with their illness.

Family Therapy

For those patients with a healthy family structure, it’s extremely valuable to have family members around in their quest to recover from anorexia. Families can help have tough conversations with patients about relationship issues, map out a support plan, and stay educated every step of the way. As such, incorporating family members into group therapy sessions, either with or without the patient, are great ways to help combat the symptoms of anorexia.

Adolescent-Focused Psychotherapy

For young children, adolescent-focused psychotherapy provides more streamlined goals and plans that correlate with a child’s mind. These sessions usually last anywhere from a year to 18 months. They combat fears of weight changes, provide children with an understanding of what they need to do to stay healthy, and help the child identify the core issues causing anorexia.

Nutrition Counseling and Advice

While nutrition counseling is only half the battle, it’s also a vital part of treatments that help lead to healthy weight gain. Nutritional therapy involves improving patients’ relationships with food while increasing the strength of their bodies. Diet advice will be given, and there will be an understanding of healthy ways to gain and lose weight. Some individuals will be prescribed vitamins and supplements to keep them healthy.

Find the Right Treatment Option with Aster Springs

Treating eating disorders requires the right treatment options, and you can only get them from experienced professionals dedicated to the cause. As an eating disorder treatment facility, the team at Aster Springs takes each patient seriously, forming evidence-based clinical treatments designed to foster progress and growth in each individual. If you want to learn more about how we can help you or a loved one battle anorexia, find the location nearest you.