Eating disorders are complex psychological conditions that require modern, proven types of treatment in order to help people overcome them. Eating disorder-trained professionals agree that Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) helps people regulate their emotions and become more mindful about who they are and their place in the world. Because of how successful this type of therapy is, Trellis Recovery Centers offers DBT for eating disorders as part of our overall program. We treat adult men and women in our homelike facility using compassionate care provided by expert clinicians. We offer a family-focused component to our plan to keep the family involved in helping their loved one walk the road to recovery.
What is Dialectical Behavior Therapy?
Dialectical Behavior Therapy is a type of talk therapy used to treat people with mental health disorders. DBT can be practiced in individual or group therapy sessions for treating eating disorders. Developed as an extension of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), DBT was originally used to treat borderline personality disorder. Many treatment programs use it now to help people develop a greater understanding of themselves as they move through the early stages of recovering from an eating disorder.
DBT helps people learn to regulate their emotions instead of acting and reacting in unhealthy ways in relation to them. So many eating-disordered thoughts and feelings become ingrained and the person feels powerless to challenge them. As a result, the individual falls back on the associated behaviors that arise from this unhealthy pattern of how they think and feel. DBT teaches the person to stop and interpret their thoughts and emotions with a neutral viewpoint. From there, they develop healthy coping skills that build the foundation for making wise choices in relation to their physical and mental health.
How Does DBT Treat Eating Disorders?
Trained therapists use DBT for eating disorders to address four main targets in the patient’s life:
Emotion Regulation: Changing from feeling no control over one’s emotions to being able to regulate them.
Mindfulness: Being fully present in each moment and viewing it with a neutral reaction rather than coming from a place of judgment.
Distress Tolerance: The development of skills that allow the individual to tolerate stressful situations when they occur without automatically reaching for eating disorder behaviors.
Interpersonal Effectiveness: Reshaping relationships with others by using effective communication tools and establishing healthy boundaries.
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What Types of Eating Disorders Does DBT Therapy Treat?
Many different types of eating disorders afflict people, making it important that a professional treatment program understands how to treat several kinds. The types of eating disorders DBT helps include:
- Binge eating disorder
- Anorexia nervosa
- Bulimia nervosa
- Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)
- Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED)
- Rumination disorder
- Pica
When someone arrives at our facility, we perform an assessment to determine exactly which eating disorder they have. This allows us to create a program that directly addresses their specific needs. In addition, each individual will receive multiple sessions of DBT for eating disorders.
Benefits of Our Los Angeles DBT Therapy for Eating Disorders
Men and women who participate in our DBT for eating disorders enjoy a host of benefits. DBT is provided by clinicians trained in providing this type of therapy. They use their experience to provide this specialized therapy for a diverse population of adults. Each person taking part in DBT receives a detailed explanation of how the process works and the support they need to make real progress in recovery.
An additional benefit comes from the fact that skills learned in DBT can be used outside of those sessions. The same principles and approach to healing can be used as part of other types of therapy. In fact, DBT lessons can be used long after the conclusion of treatment. This helps keep a person’s thought process and ability to communicate on a healthy level. This pays off by keeping them focused on staying in recovery way into the future.
DBT helps people stop feeling stuck in the past and also helps them from succumbing to the temptation to feel fearful of future events. Those who complete this valuable type of therapy become acclimated to living in the present. They stay rooted in each moment as it happens with a newfound ability to make wise decisions that support recovery from their eating disorder.
Begin DBT for Eating Disorders in Los Angeles, CA
If you are interested in recovering from an eating disorder, Trellis Recovery Centers offers supportive care for diverse populations of people who need help improving their physical and mental health. We include DBT for eating disorders along with other talk therapies, somatic therapy, and movement therapy to create a well-rounded program.
If you would like more information about how DBT can help you relearn positive relationships with your body and food, contact us now. Our friendly admissions staff is waiting to answer your questions.
