Supporting a Loved One with an Eating Disorder

Eating disorders are serious mental health concerns that are incredibly challenging to recover from, especially alone. At Stillar Psychological, we offer support to family members, including skills, tools, and resources so that families can learn to confidently support their loved one’s recovery. This page is dedicated to providing helpful information in the form of book recommendations, videos, and internet resources that highlight various ways in which families can be supportive allies in their loved one’s eating disorder recovery.

Books​

My Kid is Back: Empowering Parents to Beat Anorexia Nervosa

Eating with your Anorexic

A Parent's Guide to Defeating Eating Disorders

Skills-based Learning for Caring for a Loved One with an Eating Disorder

How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder

What to Say to Kids When Nothing Seems to Work: A Practical Guide for Parents and Caregivers

Brave Girl Eating: The inspirational true story of one family's battle with anorexia

When Your Teen Has an Eating Disorder: Practical Strategies to Help Your Teen Recover

Anorexia and Other Eating Disorders: How to Help your Child Eat Well and Be Well

Skills-based Caring for a Loved One with an Eating Disorder: The New Maudsley Method

When Your Teen Has an Eating Disorder: Practical Strategies to Help Your Teen Recover

A Cognitive-Interpersonal Therapy Workbook for Treating Anorexia Nervosa: The Maudsley Model

Anorexia Nervosa: A Survival Guide for Families, Friends and Sufferers

Eating with Your Anorexic: How My Child Recovered Through Family-Based Treatment and Yours Can Too

Will You Love Me When I'm Fat?: A Mother and Daughter Story

Biting Anorexia: A First Hand Account of an Internal War

Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain

Skinny Boy: A Young Man's Battle and Triumph Over Anorexia

Eating Disorders Meal Support: Helpful Approaches for Families

 Learn how meal structure and predictability is important for youth with eating disorders. Watch now to see how you can support your loved ones before, during, and after meals. 

Supporting Youth with Bulimia Nervosa: Helpful Approaches for Families

An interview with families who have worked through eating disorders collaboratively, and hear of their experiences and what they found to be helpful. 

Supporting a loved one with an eating disorder using skills from Emotion-Focused Family Therapy

What is advanced care giving and why is it important? This video discusses the importance of advanced care giving and touches on what validation is and isn’t, it also includes ways to best respond to the ubiquitous  “I won’t eat that”, “I don’t want help” and “I feel fat.”

Feeding the Demon: One Family’s Struggle with Anorexia Nervosa 10 years ago

In this video, a mother shares her family’s battle with anorexia. She reveals that her daughter (Kitty) suffered from this disease and shares the obstacles and triumphs that her family had overcome. She mentions that they found family-based therapy (FBT) to be the best form of treatment for them, and talks about what helped her family recover.

The Healing Power of Anger

A central issues among many individuals with eating disorders is suppressed anger. Similar to other emotions, anger must be given room for expression. Watch this video to learn strategies that parents and caregivers can utilize to help harness the power of their loved one’s suppressed anger to move them along the road of recovery.

EFFT for Eating Disorders – Emotion Coaching

Watch this video to learn about Emotion-Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) and eating disorders. The video focuses on how emotion coaching can help parents and caregivers in areas of meal support and symptom interruption.

Useful Web Pages

F.E.A.S.T

F.E.A.S.T is a renown organization dedicated towards parents and caregivers to help them better support their loved ones with eating disorder. F.E.A.S.T stands for Families Empowered And Supporting Treatment for Eating Disorders.

Beat Eating Disorders

Beat is a charity organization based in UK that is dedicated to providing for those with eating disorder. Visit Beat to access useful information on all aspects of eating disorders.

Maudsley Parents

The Maudley Approach is a Family-Based Treatment for eating disorders. Visit Maudsley Parents to learn how families can play an important role in the recovery of their loved ones with eating disorders.

F.E.A.S.T's Around The Dinner Table Forum

Around The Dinner Table is a moderated online discussion forum that connects parents of those with eating disorder around the world since 2004.