Who Should I See for Eating Disorder Treatment?
Finding the right provider among a sea of services
So, you’ve reached a place where you think you might want help with some eating concerns but not sure who to see? No worries, there are so many treatment options and avenues it’s enough to overwhelm anyone. Below I have discussed 3 main outpatient providers you might be considering, and how to proceed.
Peer Support
Peer support groups are commonly sought after by folks dealing with all sorts of struggles, and for good reason. Formal support circles offer a lot of advantages such as relatedness, a sense of not being alone, and an opportunity to exchange ideas around a common goal. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) defines peer support groups as a regular gathering of individuals with the lived experience of mental illness. These individuals come together, overseen by a trained peer support specialist or facilitator, to talk with one another about their experiences, struggles, and challenges.
In eating disorder treatment, peer support is an adjunct to professional support. While peer groups are helpful, they usually are not enough to create substantial improvements people are looking for. If considering joining a peer support group, consider if the facilitator is trained or actively receiving supervision on how to facilitate groups.
Most importantly, check in with yourself… If you feel that the peer circle is providing you (or could) with the skills or support that align with your concerns… then keep up with it!
Recovery or Life Coach
The emerging role of coaches in eating disorder treatment has boomed on social media. From a review of dozens of eating disorder coaches’ Instagram accounts and websites, coaches support individuals in their pursuit of day to day self-identified goals. Recovery coaches are difficult to define because there is no technical definition.
For better or worse, basically, anyone can call themselves a coach. Coaches sometimes have their own lived experience with disordered eating behaviors and are passionate about helping others on their healing journey. The primary way that coaches support their clients is through the knowledge and experience they acquired while dealing with similar hardships.
Certified eating disorder coaches undergo training from a psychotherapist (master or doctoral degree in psychology or counseling) in order to better package their personal experience into a supportive and tactical strategy for clients. However, many people are operating without training. This is tricky territory that should peak your spidey sense!
Recovery coaches are not medical or psychological experts and therefore do not replace professionals. They cannot offer medical or psychological advice. The good ones do not creep into unqualified territories. More than ever, coaches are joining treatment teams as an additional arm of support that people can utilize for the day to day struggles of restriction, binging, or negative body image.
Psychologist
Psychologists are mental health experts trained in the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders. Licensed psychologists undergo 6 years (or more) of training (yikes!) in order to become experts in their field and earn a license to independently practice. Psychologists know how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors interconnect and therefore can guide individuals with eating disorders towards behavior change. Know, that if you seek out a psychologist who has never worked with a patient presenting with eating disorders, they are ethically obligated to pursue supervision from an eating disorder specialist.
In therapy, psychologists work with your past and present factors fueling the eating disorder. Psychologists utilize evidence-based techniques to identify the thoughts and behaviors that are currently not working for you so you can get closer to a life truly worth living. Psychologists trained in eating disorders are the experts who diagnose and treat them, as well as coordinate with other team members such as medical doctors, dieticians, and potentially coaches.
There you have it. Ultimately, when choosing between various providers ask yourself these specific questions: What do I want to change about my life? Does this person offer what I am specifically looking for? What makes this person qualified to offer the type of services they are offering? Then go ahead, reach out and ask them! Bring your specific goal (or lack thereof) to the service provider and get their take on whether or not you are a good fit. None of these options is the right or wrong choice for everyone so I hope this helps. As always, be honest with yourself. Seeking additional support is never the wrong decision.
