🌟 Family Based Treatment (FBT) is an approach to improving access and effectiveness in the treatment of eating disorders. Let’s explore how Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is transforming lives and breaking barriers.
1. Understanding Eating Disorders 🌈
Eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, ARFID, and binge eating disorder, pose significant challenges. These conditions involve harmful eating behaviours, an intense fear of gaining weight, and distorted body image. Comprehensive care is essential to address both the physical and psychological aspects of these disorders.
When a teenager or a loved one restricts their food intake drastically due to a fear of gaining weight or engages in binge eating, some time followed by purging, these behaviours not only affect their physical health but also their mental well-being, leading to other issues like anxiety and depression.
Having the right professionals and help in place can help family members better understand how eating disorders affect their loved one’s physical and mental health.
2. The Power of Family Based Treatment (FBT) 🏡
Family Based Treatment (FBT) is a recognised and effective method for treating eating disorders. Originally aimed at anorexia nervosa, Family Based Treatment has proven successful for various eating disorders. It involves families playing an active role in their loved one’s recovery by helping them eat regular meals and manage their eating disorder in a supportive environment. This approach is effective for adolescents and even young adults under the age of 25.
A family working together during mealtimes helps to encourage their loved one to eat, providing a supportive and non-judgmental atmosphere, which can significantly aid recovery. Family Based Treatment helps family members to play an active role in their loved one’s recovery and provide the support they need at home.
3. What Does Family Based Treatment Entail? 📝
FBT is divided into three distinct phases:
1. Phase 1: Weight Restoration
Families take control of their loved one’s eating, ensuring they consume adequate nutrition.
Focus is on restoring their weight to a healthy level.
Family meals are supervised, and families provide meal support.
2. Phase 2: Returning Control to the Individual
Gradually, control over eating is returned to the individual.
Families and therapists monitor progress and support the individual in developing healthy eating habits.
Discussions about body image and coping strategies for managing eating disorder symptoms are introduced.
3. Phase 3: Establishing Healthy Identity
The focus shifts to broader issues, such as independence and normal development.
Therapy addresses any remaining issues related to eating disorders and reinforces healthy behaviours.
4. The Challenge of Accessibility to Family Based Treatment 🌟
Despite its effectiveness, Family Based Treatment’s reach is limited in community settings, leaving many families, especially those from marginalised backgrounds, without access to vital care. Additionally, some families struggle to apply treatment skills from clinical settings to their everyday lives.
Families living in rural areas may not have easy access to specialised eating disorder clinics, making it challenging to receive consistent care.
The Ashely Cross Eating Disorders Service have addressed the obstacles family’s face in accessing treatment, and here are some solutions to overcoming them.
Family-Based Treatment (FBT) fosters a supportive home environment for recovery from eating disorders.
5. Home-Based Treatment: A New Path 🏠
Adapting Family Based Treatment principles to a home-based approach delivered within the community. This innovative method addresses accessibility and practical application challenges. Home-based treatments have shown success, marking a new chapter in applying FBT principles in a stand-alone home-based care model.
Our therapists meet the family’s online to provide guidance and support, making it easier for the family to implement treatment strategies in their daily routine around their own life commitments.
6. The Role of Online Treatment 💻
Online treatment and therapy have further broken barriers to accessing FBT. Virtual sessions allow families to receive expert guidance and support regardless of their location, making treatment more accessible and flexible.
Considering family’s living in a remote area can connect with a specialised eating disorder therapist through video calls, ensuring they receive consistent care and support.
Our online therapy options make it easier for our family’s to access the help they need when they need it.
7. Key Adaptations in Home-Based Family Based Treatment 🔍
This journey started with close collaboration with community providers. Guided by a comprehensive evidence based framework, adaptations were designed to seamlessly integrate Family Based Treatment into a home-based model. Key modifications included adjusting frequency of treatment, incorporating family meals, enhancing meal support from our team at the Ashley Cross Eating Disorders Service, and adding cultural or celebratory considerations. The introduction of distress tolerance and emotion regulation skills further enhanced this approach.
Incorporating social, celebratory and cultural meals and family traditions into the treatment plan can make it more relevant and effective for families.
As a team, we make sure to help family’s so that they can adapt the treatment plan to fit their family’s unique needs and cultural differences.
8. Promising Possibilities and Future Directions 🌟
By implementing Family Based Treatment within the home environment and utilising online therapy, we’re unlocking a new world of engagement and recovery for adolescents and young adults with eating disorders. This approach has the potential to uplift underserved, isolated and busy homes and offer more inclusive care.
A study in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that home-based Family Based Treatment can improve treatment outcomes in these populations.
At the Ashley Cross Eating Disorders Service we can make these positive changes available so that family’s can adopt a home-based and online treatment approach.
How Ashley Cross Eating Disorders Service Can Help 💖
At Ashley Cross Eating Disorders Service, we’re committed to providing innovative and effective treatments, including home-based and online Family Based Treatment. Our dedicated team works closely with families to adapt treatment plans that fit their unique needs and circumstances.
Our service involves regular virtual and online sessions from a multidisciplinary team, including therapists, dietitians, and family therapists, to provide comprehensive support.
Learn More and Get Support 🌈
If you’re curious about home-based and online Family Based Treatment or know someone who might benefit, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at Ashley Cross Eating Disorders Service. We’re here to provide guidance and support every step of the way. For more insights, check out these resources:
