Teen Eating Disorders

At one time, it was rare for eating disorders to affect very young people. Today, teen eating disorders are becoming a national epidemic, affecting people who are 13 and even younger.

While eating disorders typically have multiple causes, cultural factors appear to be among the causes of the growing prevalence of teen eating disorders.

Our culture is filled with contradictions. On the one hand, media projects an image of beauty that is unattainable. At the same time, we are making super-sized, fast-food meals appealing to young people.

Treating Teen Eating Disorders

Walden Behavioral Care is the only facility in New England to treat teen eating disorders in patients as young as 13, and males as well as females.

Walden accepts teens as young as 13 for inpatient care, while our other services in the Eating Disorders Program serve patients who are 18 and older. While females continue to be the population most likely to have teen eating disorders, a growing number of males also have teen eating disorders.

The healthcare community is just learning to respond to this growing health threat. We have learned that teen eating disorders are complex illnesses and that patients respond best to a combination of medical, nutritional, behavioral and psychiatric treatment. We have learned that treatment of teen eating disorders should change as the patient makes progress toward recovery -- and that it should be adjusted if the patient has a setback. We have learned that we need to constantly evaluate the condition of patients with teen eating disorders and determine the treatment that best fits the patient's needs at any given time.

Walden Behavioral Care has responded to the evolving knowledge of teen eating disorders by becoming one of the first hospitals in the country to offer the full "continuum of care" for treating eating disorders. By offering a complete continuum of treatment for teen eating disorders, we can not only meet the needs of all patients who require treatment, we can also change treatment to adapt to the patient's needs as the patient's symptoms change. This approach not only encourages the patient to progress, it also helps ensure that insurance benefits cover more of treatment needed to control teen eating disorders.

Levels Of Care For Teen Eating Disorders

For those with advanced eating disorders, 24-hour monitoring and nursing care are essential. Treatment at this level stabilizes the patient in preparation for intensive behavioral, medical, nutritional and psychological therapy. Walden is one of only a few hospitals in the country to offer acute inpatient care in a specialized, dedicated program. Inpatient care typically lasts for a few weeks.

Depending on their age and other factors, those with teen eating disorders may advance to our residential program at Walden Place or our partial hospitalization program. For those who still need a structured, full-time program, Walden Place provides treatment in a comfortable, home-like setting. Partial hospitalization is the recommended treatment for those with teen eating disorders when they are not quite ready to make the transition from fulltime hospital care to independent living. Partial hospitalization includes a daily, structured program, but patients return home each evening. Finally, intensive outpatient care is designed to help patients with teen eating disorders to complete their readjustment and maintain healthy eating patterns.

Patients with teen eating disorders move in both directions within Walden's care system. When more intensive care is needed, it is available. As they gain control over their teen eating disorders, they move toward independent living. Because we provide a full range of treatment options, we can treat patients who are at any stage in their teen eating disorders. As a result, patients can stay with Walden and receive the medical care they need from the same team even as they advance toward lasting recovery.

Continuity is important. When patients have to move from one program to another, it's almost like starting over. Because all of our programs are under one roof - except Walden Place, which is next door - treatment continues with fewer obstacles and less starting over. There are no disruptions in care.

Types of Teen Eating Disorders

Our Eating Disorders Service provides discrete, highly specialized treatment for patients 13 and older with anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating disorder and other eating disorders. Patients with teen eating disorders generally have psychiatric, behavioral, and medical conditions that need to be addressed as part of an overall wellness program. Someone with a teen eating disorder may, for example, also have depression or an addiction. Walden's "whole health" approach concurrently addresses the patient's mental and physical illnesses. A multidisciplinary team that includes internists, psychiatrists, psychologists, nutritionists, social workers, nurses, expressive-arts therapists and mental-health workers helps patients develop the skills necessary to gain control of destructive eating behavior, improve their support system, increase self-esteem and establish a stable foundation for long-term recovery.

Helping Those With Teen Eating Disorders

If you suspect you or someone you know has an eating disorder, do something about it. Teen eating disorders can be life-threatening. Seek professional counseling immediately.

For help, contact Walden Behavioral Care at 781-647-6700 or Info@waldenbehavioralcare.com.