Living With Food: The Science Supporting Eating Disorder Treatment

By Sarah Emerman, Joanna Hardis, and Dr. Mark Warren

Making the decision to bring your child in for an assessment can be a difficult and trying process. Your child may be resistant to coming and/or may try to convince you that they can decrease behaviors without help. The truth of the matter is that it is very rare for a child to make the decision to get treatment on their own. Because adolescence is the period of time where brain and bone development take place, avoiding or putting off getting treatment can be detrimental to your child’s health. When you come for an assessment at CCED, our goal is to make your family feel supported, and insure that you have a plan on how to best get treatment for your child.

Adolescent assessments last approximately two hours. Similar to adult assessments, we ask that you bring the paperwork mailed to you and come twenty minutes early to fill out additional measures. We recommend you make a list of questions and read as much as possible about Maudsley Family Therapy prior to your assessment so that the clinician can address your questions and concerns.

Within the first forty-five minutes of your child’s assessment, our clinician will speak with your child privately to gain insight into their perception of the illness. Since the assessment is a diagnostic procedure and not individual therapy, we will tell you what your child says. Our assessment clinician makes your child aware that what they say is not confidential. The clinician will then meet with you privately to get a sense of the parents’ concerns, perceptions, and observations. In addition, the clinician will provide psychoeducation about eating disorders and Maudsley Family Based Therapy. At the end of the assessment the clinician will make treatment recommendations regarding level of care and the next steps to be taken.

The treatment recommendation will be based on the support needed by the family, family history, the sense of urgency, current behaviors, issues from nutritional insufficiency, and medical risks and recommendations. The ultimate goal of an adolescent assessment is that the family leaves feeling comfortable that there are options for a plan that will serve the needs of the family and, most importantly, guides your child on a path to recovery and health.

For more information on Maudsley Family Therapy, we recommend FEAST, Maudsley Parents , and Dr. Sarah Ravin’s blog.

If you are interested in setting up an assessment for your child, please contact (216) 765-0500.