Exploring Eating Disorder Recovery through Family Therapy
Family therapy may lower relapse rates and enhance recovery for eating disorder patients.
Individuals with an eating disorder and their family members may recover more quickly and sustain recovery by undergoing family therapy. Family therapy is a method of dealing with the issue head-on and preventing increased problems. By talking about the secrets of an eating disorder, the fear and shame of having an eating disorder usually decrease.
Family members may not be the cause of an eating disorder; however, they can unintentionally block the road to recovery. Family therapy is all about discovering these roadblocks and developing ways to overcome them.
Family therapy is helpful to both the patient and the family. For the family, it can provide a window into the mental status of a person with an eating disorder. For the patient, family therapy helps them work through triggers to which the family may unknowingly contribute and helps solve these issues. Also, communication among family members typically improves as a result of family therapy. It can help everyone to better understand how to talk about the illness, how to spot signs of relapse, and what to say when they think a family member is in trouble.
At EDCare, family therapy is part of the treatment curriculum. To help increase family resilience and growth-fostering connections, families learn effective communication skills. Therapy sessions involve learning increased empathy, reflective listening, conflict resolution, anger management, healthy boundaries, interpersonal risk-taking, authenticity and emotional regulation. By exploring these communication skills, families relearn how to talk to one another. They learn how their families may have become emotionally distant and how to resolve these issues.
Through the communication process at EDCare, patients and family members are taught to value their imperfections, strengths and weaknesses, and develop healthy tolerances for mistakes. Family therapists at EDCare are trained in multiple family therapy models and are able to adjust and adapt to the unique needs of each family.
Family therapy may lower relapse rates and enhance recovery for eating disorder patients by helping families cope with an eating disorder together. By assisting in the recovery process, families discover the roadblocks preventing full recovery, work on these issues together as a family and have the ability to support the person in recovery fully.
If you are concerned about yourself or a loved one, please know help is just a phone call away. Located in Overland Park, EDCare has been treating adult eating disorder patients in the Kansas metro area since 2014. Please contact us at 913-945-1277 to schedule a free, confidential assessment. You can also learn more about eating disorders and EDCare services at eatingdisorder.care. ■
