Center for the Treatment of Eating Disorders
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Parent/Family Services When Someone You Know Has an Eating Disorder: You Can Worsen The Situation If You. . . Try to take control over the person's eating behavior. You can't stop the binger from binging and you can't make the anorectic eat. If you try, you're likely to fail. Fight about food. Look what happens when you do. Usually the entire situation gets worse and relationships get strained. Use tactics like punishment, rewards, threats and guilt to change eating behavior. Get caught in a guilt trip. Blaming yourself for someone's eating problem serves no constructive purpose. It can cause you added pain and the person with the eating disorder additional stress. Try to become that person's therapist. Eating disorders are serious problems requiring professional intervention. The advice and support of family and friends, though helpful, cannot take the place of psychological or medical treatment. Try to help by hiding the problem or helping them avoid dealing with the effects of their behavior. Avoid talking about the problem. Are not willing to get professional assistance for yourself. You Can Help By. . . Admitting there is a problem that requires professional attention. Reading up on eating disorders. You will find information a valuable tool. Listening and being supportive. People with eating disorders are having serious difficulties and need your help. Listening and caring are more helpful than you may think. Talking to the person about their eating problem. Don't be judgmental or critical. Just state what you've seen and suggest they seek help. Keeping the lines of communication open. Talk about how you feel, your concerns and fears. Talk as openly and honestly about the problem as you can. Living your own life as fully and normally as you can. Encouraging the person to seek treatment. Seeking professional counseling and support for yourself. If you're close to someone with an eating disorder, you'll need to deal with your own feelings about the problem and the progressive changes that occur during recovery. Family Counseling   Problems of excess weight, bulimia, anorexia nervosa, and the psychological issues that underly them effect every member of a family. We often find it valuable, therefore, to work with the whole family to improve relationships. Family counseling provides a supportive experience as therapists help relatives understand the disorder involved and its relation to them. They also learn how family members may be unintentionally supporting the client's symptoms and how they can respond appropriately to the client's behavioral changes during and after therapy. Parents Support Group   This group was established to help members identify how a person's eating disorder is affecting them and how they may be unintnetionally supporting a person's eating disorder. The purpose of this group is to provide support while developing constructive ways of handling problem eating behaviors and the issues associated with eating disorders. Partners In Recovery (A Support Group for Family Members & Friends of Persons with Eating Disorders)   This Group is specifically designed to provide support and information about eating disorders and their treatment. The group is open to parents, siblings, spouses and significant others of persons with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and compulsive eating problems. Group members will be helped in identifying how a person's eating disorder is effecting them and how they may be unintentionally supporting a person's eating disorder. The purpose of the group is to: Provide support for family members and friends. Help group members learn how eating disorders effect family members and close friends. Develop constructive ways of handling problem eating behavior and the issues associated with eating disorders. Benefits of Attending: During Each Session, Group Members Will: Receive didactic and written information. Be taught coping skills they can use to deal with the impact a relationship with someone with an eating disorder is having on them. Learn techniques they can use to deal with problem eating behavior and related issues. Topics:   Each session will begin by addressing a specific topic. These topics were chosen in response to the needs expressed by family members and friends of persons treated at the Center since it was established in 1983. They are used as a starting point for discussion and exploration. There will be time for individual feedback and examining issues specific to each group member. Group members are encouraged to ask questions and discuss any of their concerns and issues. Topics will include: What you can do to help What doesn't work and why Treatment issues How to open up the lines of communication The role eating disorders serves with family members and friends Setting limits Dealing with your own feelings, i.e., guilt, anger, shame, helplessness, etc. Written information will include: Identifying characteristics of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and compulsive overeating. What you can do to help someone with an eating disorder. Things people say and do that worsen the problem. Support Groups in New Jersey. Medical complications associated with eating disorders. Reading list on eating disorders and their treatment. Call to Register 973-740-0234 Insurance Plans Acknowledged Center for the Treatment of Eating Disorders 570 West Mount Pleasant Ave, Suite 108, Livingston, NJ 07039 79 Hudson Street, Suite 203, Hoboken, NJ 07030 973-740-0234 Fax 973-740-0702 Contact Us Via E-Mail ©1998 - 2005 The Center for the Treatment of Eating Disorders