Anorexia Nervosa (5)

Treatment

Treatment of anorexia is generally done using a team approach that includes medical providers, mental health providers and dietitians, all with experience in eating disorders.
What's commonly involved in treating people with anorexia

• Medical care Because of the host of complications anorexia causes, you may need frequent monitoring of vital signs, hydration level and electrolytes, as well as related physical conditions. A family doctor or primary care doctor may be the one who coordinates care with the other health care professionals involved. Sometimes, though, it's the mental health provider who coordinates care.
• Hospitalization In cases of medical complications, psychiatric emergencies, severe malnutrition or continued refusal to eat, hospitalization may be needed. Hospitalization may be on a medical or psychiatric ward. Some clinics specialize in treating people with eating disorders. Some may offer day programs or residential programs, rather than full hospitalization. Specialized eating disorder programs may offer more intensive treatment over longer periods of time. Also, even after hospitalization ends, ongoing therapy and nutrition education are highly important to continued recovery.
• Medications There are no medications specifically to treat anorexia since they've shown limited benefit in treating this eating disorder. However, antidepressants or other psychiatric medications can help treat other mental disorders you may also have, such as depression or anxiety.
• Nutritional therapy A dietitian offers guidance on a healthy diet. A dietitian can provide specific meal plans and calorie requirements to help meet weight goals. In severe cases, people with anorexia may require feeding through a tube that's placed in their nose and goes to the stomach (nasogastric tube).
• Psychotherapy Individual, family and group therapy may all be beneficial. Individual therapy can help you deal with the behavior and thoughts that contribute to anorexia. In psychotherapy, you can gain a healthier self-esteem and learn positive ways to cope with distress and other strong feelings. A type of talk therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is most commonly used but lacks strong evidence that it's superior to other forms of therapy.

The mental health provider can help assess the need for psychiatric hospitalization or day treatment programs.

Family therapy can help resolve family conflicts or muster support from concerned family members. Family therapy can be especially important for children with anorexia who still live at home. Group therapy gives you a way to connect to others facing eating disorders. And informal support groups can also be helpful. However, be careful with group therapy. For some people with anorexia, group therapy or support groups can result in competitions to be the thinnest person there.

Because anorexia nervosa has biological, psychological, familial, and socio-cultural components, effective treatment should involve collaboration among health professionals, including physicians, therapists, and dieticians.
The first course of action should be to aggressively seek help from a physician to diagnose and immediately treat any physical problems. Hospitalization is sometimes necessary to prevent starvation.

Individuals with anorexia nervosa are often very resistant to getting help. Their resistance is often reinforced by friends who envy thinness or by dance or athletic coaches who encourage extremely low body fat. It's extremely important to have the heightened support of family members to better ensure their loved one's recovery, family therapy is often encouraged and of significant help.