Eating Disorders – What We Treat
Enjoy food. Enjoy movement for the fun of it. What we treat improves lives!
Eating disorders can occur in individuals of all ages, genders, and body types. Sanford Behavioral Health Comprehensive Treatment for Eating Disorders (Sanford CTED) treats adolescents and adults in half-day and whole-day outpatient programs. Our residential treatment programs treat female gendered individuals 18 and older. Our continuum of care allows the individuals we treat to enter a program at the level that is appropriate for their symptoms. In addition, In-person and virtual options are available.
Eating Disorders What We Treat
1. Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa Is the refusal of food/nutrition, along with an obsessive fear of gaining weight or “becoming fat,” characterized by an obsessive fear of weight gain and a refusal to maintain a healthy body weight. There may be strange eating behaviors, obsessional routines, and a denial of hunger or weight loss. This results in a disturbance in how body image is seen and experienced. In other words, an individual with anorexia not only believes their body is larger than it is, but they also experience it feeling bigger – as if they are taking up more space than they are. [read more...]
For additional information:
Anorexia in Larger Bodies? Busting Misdiagnosis and Stigma
2. Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
ARFID begins in young childhood but may not present for treatment until adulthood. These individuals eliminate foods based on textures, smells, and the fear of vomiting or choking. Avoidant restrictive food and intake disorder (ARFID) is avoidance of food/nutrition. Still, the restraint is based on fear of choking or vomiting triggered by smells and textures, not anxiety about weight gain. It results in weight loss or a failure to gain weight at the rate expected along the developmental trajectory for a child or adolescent. Sometimes this presentation will transform into behaviors like those of someone with anorexia nervosa. Correctly diagnosing this condition takes significant expertise. [read more…]
Information from Amy Boshoven, Sanford CTED Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner:
Effects of Eating Disorders on the Whole Body
3. Binge Eating Disorder
Binge eating disorder is characterized by uncontrolled continuous eating beyond the point of feeling comfortably full. Feeling out of control, feelings of shame or self-hatred, and changes in body weight are common. Coexisting conditions include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and substance use disorders. [read more…]
Sanford CTED Director of Eating Disorder Services on Wood TV, talking about diets:
Dieting? A Healthy Approach to Your New Year’s Resolution
4. Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa is represented by excessive eating followed by compensatory behaviors such as induced vomiting, abuse of laxatives, excessive exercise, and fasting. Individuals with bulimia may appear to eat small or average amounts with others but binge in secret. In addition, individuals with bulimia often struggle with other impulse control problems, including substance use disorders. [read more…]
Dr. Anna Flores on Eating Disorder Awareness:
Eating Disorder Awareness – 5 Questions for Dr. Anna Flores
5. Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (OSFED)
OSFED is an eating disorder classification for those who do not meet the diagnostic criteria for other eating disorders. Individuals with OSFED commonly present with a distorted body image, disturbed eating habits, overvaluation of body shape and weight, and an intense fear of gaining weight.
Take a Tour of Sanford Comprehensive Treatment for Eating Disorders:
Residential Eating Disorder Treatment – Take the Tour
Eating Disorder Assessments
Complete medical and psychiatric assessments are performed when an individual enters a Sanford CTED program. In addition, clients will also have bio-psycho-social evaluations completed at the start of treatment by master’s level clinicians to identify the appropriate levels of care, current physical and mental health symptoms, eating disorder behaviors, and nutritional status.
You are not alone in your eating disorder. Help is waiting for you. At Sanford Behavioral Health, we offer residential and outpatient eating disorder treatment to support individuals in finding healing and hope for their future. Please contact us at 616.202.3326 for more information about our program and how we can support you on your path.
