The book illustrates how parents who are participating in family-based treatment (FBT) for their child's eating disorder (ED) may enhance their chances of achieving optimal outcomes for their child by more successfully navigating the challenges that often impede progress in treatment and recovery.
The stance of the book is transdiagnostic, so that the information provided spans all ED diagnoses including anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED), avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), and atypical ED presentations as well as conditions that fall outside current diagnostic criteria. This book aims to help parents identify how they can make the most out of FBT therapy no matter which ED symptoms their child experiences. Case vignettes across the diagnostic and clinical spectrum are used liberally throughout the book, not only to illustrate examples of some of the specific challenges families face, but to help parents normalize the emotions they may feel around their experience of trying to help their child and around their experience of participating in the FBT intervention itself.
A respectful and supportive tone makes this resource accessible and jargon-free for parents, and provides useful information and approaches for psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and allied health practitioners who deliver FBT to young people and families.
The stance of the book is transdiagnostic, so that the information provided spans all ED diagnoses including anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge eating disorder (BED), avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), and atypical ED presentations as well as conditions that fall outside current diagnostic criteria. This book aims to help parents identify how they can make the most out of FBT therapy no matter which ED symptoms their child experiences. Case vignettes across the diagnostic and clinical spectrum are used liberally throughout the book, not only to illustrate examples of some of the specific challenges families face, but to help parents normalize the emotions they may feel around their experience of trying to help their child and around their experience of participating in the FBT intervention itself.
A respectful and supportive tone makes this resource accessible and jargon-free for parents, and provides useful information and approaches for psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and allied health practitioners who deliver FBT to young people and families.
"This is the book I've been waiting for-the definitive guide to implementing family-based treatment (FBT) at home, by the top experts in the field! Whether your child has anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, this book will be your lifeline. Making Family-Based Treatment For Eating Disorders Piece by Piece picks up where weekly therapy sessions end and real life begins, with genuine validation, practical advice, realistic case examples, and beautiful hand-drawn illustrations. I will be recommending it to all of my FBT families."
Jennifer J. Thomas, PhD, co-director, Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital; associate professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; immediate past president, Academiy for Eating Disorders
"Every parent undergoing FBT will want to read this book. It covers the most challenging scenarios illustrated by real examples from families including how to separate the illness from your child, how to stay aligned with your refeeding partner, and how to handle big emotions such as self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Examples are provided for all types of eating disorders. This comprehensive resource is a valuable follow up to 'Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder', and provides more in-depth solutions to some of the most common pitfalls encountered during FBT. Clinicians who provide FBT will also find this book extremely helpful."
Jennifer Couturier, MD, MSc, FRCPC, medical co-director Eating Disorders Program, McMaster Children's Hospital; associate professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
"Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is the best available, quickest acting intervention for eating disorders in adolescents. Whilst FBT may not work for everyone, an effective 'dose' of FBT as soon as possible after diagnosis confers the best prognosis. This book, based on over 20 years of clinical research experience of delivering and studying FBT, addresses the doubts, anxieties and challenges parents commonly experience when implementing FBT. Written by experts, full of empathy and understanding, and underpinned by science, this book is a 'call to arms' for parents and clinicians about why trying and persisting with FBT is the best first line strategy in combatting these potentially devastating disorders. Real world examples, in the form of brief vignettes, illustrate each of the topics across the full range of eating disorder diagnoses: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder. I recommend this book as essential reading for all parents of adolescents newly diagnosed with an eating disorder."
Dascha Nicholls, professor, Imperial College London; national specialist advisor on eating disorders, NHS England; past president, Academic for Eating Disorders
Jennifer J. Thomas, PhD, co-director, Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital; associate professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; immediate past president, Academiy for Eating Disorders
"Every parent undergoing FBT will want to read this book. It covers the most challenging scenarios illustrated by real examples from families including how to separate the illness from your child, how to stay aligned with your refeeding partner, and how to handle big emotions such as self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Examples are provided for all types of eating disorders. This comprehensive resource is a valuable follow up to 'Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder', and provides more in-depth solutions to some of the most common pitfalls encountered during FBT. Clinicians who provide FBT will also find this book extremely helpful."
Jennifer Couturier, MD, MSc, FRCPC, medical co-director Eating Disorders Program, McMaster Children's Hospital; associate professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
"Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is the best available, quickest acting intervention for eating disorders in adolescents. Whilst FBT may not work for everyone, an effective 'dose' of FBT as soon as possible after diagnosis confers the best prognosis. This book, based on over 20 years of clinical research experience of delivering and studying FBT, addresses the doubts, anxieties and challenges parents commonly experience when implementing FBT. Written by experts, full of empathy and understanding, and underpinned by science, this book is a 'call to arms' for parents and clinicians about why trying and persisting with FBT is the best first line strategy in combatting these potentially devastating disorders. Real world examples, in the form of brief vignettes, illustrate each of the topics across the full range of eating disorder diagnoses: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder. I recommend this book as essential reading for all parents of adolescents newly diagnosed with an eating disorder."
Dascha Nicholls, professor, Imperial College London; national specialist advisor on eating disorders, NHS England; past president, Academic for Eating Disorders