Adolescent Eating Disorder Treatment
- Teen Eating Disorder Treatment
- Adolescent Eating Disorder Treatment
Adolescent eating disorder treatment helps young people (who are, in fact at the greatest risk for developing an eating disorder) get healthy and develop the behaviors needed to maintain a proper body weight and good eating habits. Although there are a wide variety of eating disorder treatment styles, they all share the same commitment: to help young people maintain good health and free themselves from the downward spiral of eating disorders.
What are the most Common Adolescent Eating Disorders?
There are many different types of eating disorders that can strike adolescent boys and girls. The most common of these disorders are, unfortunately, also the most serious: bulimia and anorexia.
Adolescent Anorexia
Adolescents who develop anorexia (predominantly young women) will literally starve themselves to death in order to achieve an unattainable body weight. Those individuals with anorexia put so much stress on their internal organs that even after entering into the care of a physician they are still at risk for heart failure, kidney failure or sudden death. Anorexia predominantly affects young women in their teens and early twenties, but can also impact men as well. (As many as 10% of all anorexia cases involve young men.)
Adolescent Bulimia
Bulimia is a condition affecting thousands of young people in which the individual eats a large meal and then purges the calories from their system by self-induced vomiting or other means. Like anorexia, bulimia features a warped self-image and a desire to achieve a particular body type at the expense of one's good health. Unlike anorexia, it may be difficult to spot a young person with bulimia, as their body does not undergo sudden changes as with that disorder.
Treating Adolescent Eating Disorders
When a young person enters into a treatment facility for their eating disorder, the first step involves their physical health. Physicians must confirm that the individual is physically stable enough to continue on with treatment. In the case of anorexia, this is not often the case. Many patients arrive for treatment in an emaciated stated and must be given essential fluids in order to survive. Once the individual has stabilized physically, they will enter into counseling. Eating disorder treatment counseling is a chance to explore the reasons why the individual developed their issues in the first place. By examining these root causes, counselors can create a customized treatment plan that helps the individual make better decisions about food, relationships and other key aspects of their life. Nutritional counseling also plays a key role in adolescent treatment for eating disorders. It is crucial for the individual to "relearn" proper nutrition. Counseling in this area often includes how to plan and prepare meals and associating positive activities with eating. Newport Academy is a residential facility just for adolescents and teenagers that provides eating disorder treatment with a holistic element. Young people who complete treatment at Newport find their lives enriched in mind, body and spirit.
