Episode 2: What is the history of parent involvement with eating disorder treatment?
![]() Why was involving parents in eating disorder care controversial?
Laura Collins Lyster-Mensh, a mental health consultant who helps treatment providers work effectively with patient’s families, hosts the 2nd episode of New Plates podcast, on the changes in recent decades in how parents are included in treatment. Here are the rules:
It’s time to think about how we got here, to a time when the data says include families, leading clinicians and clinics agree, and families usually agree, but most families seeking care for a loved one, or individuals seeking care, will be offered individual treatment. Family treatment has become more common as the evidence has increased, but change is slow. Guests: Dr. Mark Warren, the Chief Medical Officer at the Emily Program Dr. Lauren Muhlheim, Director of Eating Disorder Therapy LA Jenni Schaefer, the author and motivational speaker, who wrote “Life Without ED” James Lock co-author of, literally, the BOOK on Family-Based Treatment Dr. Julie O’Toole, Chief Medical Officer at the Kartini Clinic Dr. Sarah Ravin, a licensed psychologist in Florida Dr. Tarah Rogowski Martos, Post-Doctoral Psychology Fellow Links mentioned: Eating Recovery Center F.E.A.S.T. Do Parents Cause Eating Disorders? Ruth Sullivan presenting at the first F.E.A.S.T. conference AN25K Genetic project Charlotte’s Helix Early AN25K news “Late Terminal Anorexia Nervosa” suit in New Jersey 2016 Binge Eating Disorder Association conference Anosognosia Cotton Candy Ice Cream, by Daphne (email for more info) June Alexander "dearest Laura, Congratulations! I have paused after listening to the first 10 minutes or so of your podcast to write and say 'thank you' for caring -- about people with eating disorders, about their families and about their treatment teams...thank you for caring about humanity! As you know, I did not have the support of my family of origin in fighting and recovering from my long eating disorder...and the losses were great (and ongoing through the generations) ... as you kindly state at the outset, the premise on which to start conversation is that everyone is currently 'doing their best', but 'we can all do better' and I guess my voice as an advocate is for the people with eating disorders whose families are not interested, for whatever reason, in 'doing better'. I firmly believe that recovery can occur at any age but recovery is most likely to occur earlier with family love, acceptance, understanding and support. There are many reasons for this, and perhaps the prime one is that without knowledge and awareness, the family of origin stands a strong chance of aligning with and feeding and strengthening the illness that is isolating and keeping their child prisoner. Laura, if anyone can help get the message through to where it needs to get...through to the dinner table of every family everywhere...you can. I love you and treasure you and support and applaud your new venture and mission from my heart. Junexoxo" JD Ouellette "Working with families is vitally important as they are a constant in a patient's life -- even with an adult child. Very few people will be able to stay in a high enough level of treatment for a long enough time (3 years for us with a very early-diagnosis and access to top treatment immediately) to work through weight restoration and relapse prevention phases. Most families are well-suited to the work of saving their child's life if they are provided the proper psychoeducation and tools. For less functional, or chaotic, families, I believe the inclusion and training is even more important. The very best reason to include families is the overwhelming evidence it makes all the difference in the ability to remit and go on to live a happy, productive life."
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