resources for families

Around the Dinner Table is a support forum, run by F.E.A.S.T., for parents and caregivers of anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorder patients.

Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders (F.E.A.S.T.) is an international nonprofit organization of and for parents and caregivers to help loved ones recover from eating disorders by providing information and mutual support, promoting evidence-based treatment, and advocating for research and education to reduce the suffering associated with eating disorders.

International Eating Disorder Parent Support is a Facebook support group for adults who care, or have cared for a loved one with an eating disorder. They provide peer-to-peer sharing, support, education, guidance, encouragement, and to offer HOPE. They are moderated by an international collective of parents whose children have been diagnosed with an eating disorder.

Maudsley Parents is a website for parents of  children with eating disorders and provides information about Family-Based Treatment.

Books

Brave Girl Eating, Harriet Brown (2010). Brown provides another excellent account of a family’s struggle with anorexia and treatment using Family-Based Treatment.

Eating with Your Anorexic: A Mother’s Memoir, Laura Collins (2014). Any parent who is struggling with a child with an eating disorder will find it helpful to read this mother’s account of her daughter’s recovery using Family-Based Treatment.

Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder, Second Edition, James Lock, MD, Ph.D. and Daniel Le Grange, Ph.D. (2015). This book for parents includes a comprehensive overview of the Family-Based Treatment approach to treatment, written by the developers of the treatment.

When Your Teen Has an Eating Disorder, Lauren Muhlheim, Psy.D. (2018) offers a unique family-based treatment (FBT) approach that helps guide parents through their teens recovery,

Medical Resources

AED Medical Care Standards Guide Often referred to as, “the purple brochure,” this guide from the Academy for Eating Disorders’ (AED) Medical Care Standards Task Force, is intended as a resource to promote recognition of, and risk management in the care of, those with eating disorders.

Sick Enough: A Guide to the Medical Complications of Eating Disorders Dr. Jennifer Gaudiani has written the go-to resource on the medical complications of eating disorders. In her compassionate bedside manner, she demystifies these confusing disorders and distills into a single source everything that patients, families, and eating disorder providers will want to know.

General Resources

Academy for Eating Disorders: The AED is the main international scientific body for the study and prevention of eating disorders. It provides professional training to therapists as well as education and information about eating disorders research, prevention, and clinical treatments.

Gurze/Salucore Eating Disorders Resource Catalogue: Eating disorder books, articles, information, resources, and more.

Mirror-Mirror Eating Disorders:  Website providing  eating disorder information.

National Eating Disorders Association: This non-profit organization specifically focuses on supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders

Verywell Mind Eating Disorders: Website providing articles about eating disorders.

Podcasts

Eating Disorder Recovery Speakers with Kristen Brunello is a podcast that presents a recovery story one week and then the next week an interview with the person who told their story the previous week. Kristen Brunello is a recovery coach who is also in recovery from an eating disorder.

Eating Disorders Recovery Podcast with Tabitha Farrar provides a variety of content including recovery stories, personal stories, and interviews with leading experts in eating disorder treatment. Tabitha Farrar is an eating disorder recovery coach who recovered on her own from anorexia.

ED Matters – Gurze/Salucore is a podcast that provides information for people recovering from an eating disorder, their loved ones, and clinicians. Kathy Cortes interviews various experts in the treatment of eating disorders. 

New Plates – Laura Collins is a podcast to support parents in collaborating with their child’s eating disorder treatment. Laura Collins Lyster-Mensh is a long-time parent advocate and author of Eating with your anorexia: How my child recovered through family-based treatment.

Recovery Warriors is a podcast for increasing the resilience of those experiencing depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. Interviews include everything from body trust and intuitive eating to pregnancy and sports.

The Eating Disorder Recovery Podcast with Janean Anderson is a podcast that presents information on recovery, cultural context, and interviews with experts in the eating disorder field. Janean Anderson is a psychologist who is recovered from anorexia.

Other Resources

Video and audio resources:  helping parents to help their child eat and be well:  Parent Eva Musby has created video and audio resources for parents supporting children in recovery from an eating disorder.  She has a 7-minute audio guided compassion meditation for parents that is great to use for getting in a good space to support a child. Her book Anorexia and Other Disorders, helps parents support their children in the most compassionate way.