Therapy for
Teens in Eating Disorder Recovery
The pressure to have a perfect body is fueling teenage eating disorders.
Teens have it hard today. Keeping up with school, friends, relationships, family, and the latest TikTok trend is nearly impossible. So many are being crushed under the pressure to look a certain way. Diet advice is being pushed every which way they turn while their bodies are simply trying to do their job — grow. Having a balanced relationship with food and body image is almost unheard of. Eating disorders are on the rise.
Navigating teen years is hard enough. Throw an eating disorder in the mix, and that’s a recipe for anxiety, fear and relational turmoil.
Parents watch their teen isolate and become shells of who they know their child to be. Their teen is struggling with an eating disorder…and it’s evident. The fighting, crying, panic attacks and tense meal times are heart-wrenching. There is fear of medical implications. Caregivers want to reach their teen, but they don’t know how. Every effort to help seems to only add to the ever-growing tension.
As eating disorder specialists, we get it.
We might not know all the current teenage lingo (we are working on it!). But we understand your teen’s issues, the challenges that come to caregivers watching their teen struggle, and we know how to help. More than that, we are experts on treating eating disorders in adolescents and emerging adults.
At Stark Therapy Group, we offer a three-tiered support system to the families of teens with eating disorders. We’ll connect you with a full support team to help you navigate their eating disorder recovery.
Our 3-tiered umbrella care support for teens with eating disorders can help caregivers get back to doing what they do best: being a loving parent.
Three-Tiered Family Based Eating Disorder Therapy
Tier One: Therapy for the teen battling an eating disorder
At Stark Therapy Group, teens receiving support for their eating disorder will be assigned their own individual therapist who specializes in treating eating disorders. Depending on the severity of the eating disorder and the level of support needed, teens typically meet with their therapist between 1-3 times/week. In therapy, there will be a focus on working through the struggles that often accompany eating disorders. This is a non-judgmental, supportive space for the teen to explore issues with body image, distress around food and meals, social stress, working through trauma, and more.
Our approach to treating eating disorders:
As fat positive and weight neutral therapists, we operate from an anti-diet, Health At Every Size lens.
Exploring root causes of the eating disorder, which may include factors like trauma, social pressures, injustices, unclear identity, emotional distress, etc.
We treat eating disorders through a trauma-informed lens.
Cultural competence — Our therapists are constantly working to be culturally competent and aware of how societal attitudes about weight and size intersect with other identities such as race, gender, and sexual orientation. We are willing to be wrong and seek repair when mistakes are made. YOU are the expert on your experiences and identities.
Collaborative treatment — We foster a therapeutic environment where the client is actively engaged in their recovery process empowers clients to make choices that align with their values and recovery goals.
Supportive environment — We work to create a supportive environment free from shame or blame, in hopes that our clients will feel able to share openly and honestly about their struggles and experiences with food and body.
Let us help your teen step into recovery and work through healing!
Tier Two: Therapy & parent coaching for caregivers of the teen with an eating disorder
As eating disorder therapists, we've witnessed the significant toll it takes on parents to watch their child battle an eating disorder. Under this tier of support, we offer therapy for the caregivers of the adolescent with an eating disorder. In this space, parents/caregivers are offered the space to process what it’s like to have a child who is sick and struggling. While every family has different needs, parents usually see one of our Stark Therapy Group therapists on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule.
Support we offer to caregivers of those with eating disorders:
Parent Coaching on how to support your child with an eating disorder in the following areas:
Implementing harm-reduction strategies
Navigating the stress of meal time
How to cultivate less chaos and more harmony in the home
Working through conflicts that came up during the week
Quelling any unrealistic expectations and help setting realistic expectations around what eating disorder recovery looks like.
Couples Work — Some couples find that their relationship can suffer from the stress of having a child who is ill.
Grief work — No parent wants to watch their kid suffer through an illness. We find grief is a common experience for the parents we support.
Support around heightened emotions, anxiety and the desire for a “quick fix.”
Working through trauma that has happened during this process (ie: sending a child to a treatment center, unnecessary harm caused by other modalities, etc.).
The reality of recovery is that it comes with ebbs and flows. We’re here to help parents & caregivers stay grounded during the recovery process!
Tier Three: Therapy for whole family
The third and final tier of our umbrella system for supporting a teen through eating disorder recovery is family therapy. Having a loved one with an eating disorder can bring chaos and stress into the family unit. We encourage siblings to be included in family therapy sessions, recognizing that having a sibling battling an eating disorder impacts the entire family and can create a perpetual sense of disorder at home. Siblings without an eating disorder may feel overlooked while their sibling struggles with their illness. Family therapy provides a space for everyone to be acknowledged and listened to, fostering a renewed sense of harmony within the home. Our therapists work with the entire family to reintroduce harmony and fun into the household. While each family and their needs are unique, families typically see their Stark Therapy Group therapist weekly or bi-weekly.
What to expect in family therapy:
Work on family dynamics
Repairing ruptures that have happened during this process
Foster healing through strengthening connection
Work to create safety in the home through the following:
Creating guidelines around topics that are “off limits” specific to recovery
Navigating meal times & times of stress
Establishing boundaries that work for every family member
Fostering healthy communication & healthy conflict
Creating a sense of fun in the home again
Let us help your family move from chaos back to connection and fun!
The Stark Difference
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The Stark Difference 〰️
Why Stark Therapy Group?
Finding the right treatment option for your child with an eating disorder can be especially taxing. Everyone has very strong opinions on the best treatment modality. Recommendations might be given to send your child away to a residential treatment center, to bring the treatment center into your home and do Family Based Treatment (FBT is a different modality than discussed above that takes away age appropriate autonomy from the child and puts the caregivers in an authoritative role), to do virtual treatment at home, have the child go to PHP or IOP, etc. Parents just want to find what will help their child get well. We see you.
The Stark Difference at STG:
Recovery isn’t going to work unless the teen wants it to work. Our approach respects the teen’s individuality, while helping parents be able to know how to support their child in recovery. We help parents be empowered to continue being a supportive parent instead of tasking them with being the treatment team. This reduces the likelihood of relational ruptures and unnecessary trauma between the parent and teen.
All three therapists — the teen therapist, caregiver therapist and family therapist — maintain collaborative communication with one another at least once/week, ensuring excellent care. Additionally, Stark Therapy Group therapists meet bi-weekly for a formal treatment team meeting, with practice owner, Edie Stark, LCSW, who offers clinical consultation for each case.
Safety is our number one priority. We may have the individual with an eating disorder get medical clearance from their primary care physician to be seen at an out patient level.
We will assist families in getting connected to registered dietitians, eating disorder doctors and/or psychiatrists when needed.
If the family cannot support the teen successfully at home, and a safety issue arises, we will encourage informed consent and offering the teen options of how to get the support they need. We don’t support coercion.
The Stark Difference in teen eating disorder therapy will help bring healing to your teen and keep harmony in your home.
Let us be your partner.
Watching your child in pain is horrible. You do not have to do this alone. Finally, you can get your teen the help and support they deserve with professionals trained to do it.
Our team of devoted therapists, will work with your families unique needs to create the right treatment plan for you and your teen.
Central in Orange County, we offer in person therapy in our Tustin, California office. And we offer virtual therapy throughout all of California. Schedule a free consultation call with us today to go over all the options available to best support your beloved child and family.
Let us help you find joy with your teen again!
Have additional questions? Visit our FAQ section to find your answers.