Outpatient Treatment for Your Teenager: Helpful Insight and Advice

Let’s face it, many of us look back on our teenage years as painful, awkward, and confusing, where just surviving the agony of adolescence was more than enough to deal with.

So, imagine dealing with all that angst coupled with a debilitating eating disorder that robs you of vitality, health, and even a desire to live? More importantly, where do you even begin to find help for your child?

The Demographics of Eating Disorders in Teens

We know that 2.7% of teenagers have struggled with an eating disorder at some point in their lives.¹ In real numbers, that equates to 27 students at the local 1,000-student junior high school.

Anorexia is all around us: our kids, their friends, fellow athletes, club members, and neighbors may be dealing with this issue without many of us realizing that they are engaged in a life-and-death struggle with this disease.

The Factors that Prevent Treatment

Sadly, only about one third of those embroiled in anorexia, hence a battle with their bodies, weight, and food, will receive treatment.³ This is due to multiple factors, but here are a few of the common reasons teenagers don’t get help:⁵

• Stigma: Teens may feel shame or be afraid that they’ll be judged if their peers and even their family members find out they have an eating disorder. This can cause them to hide their symptoms. 
• Access to care: Appropriate care that fits into a teen’s schedule may not be available, especially in remote areas. This is why virtual treatment options are so important. 
• Knowledge of eating disorders: Both teens and their parents/caregivers may not be aware of the signs of an eating disorder and simply don’t know that they should be looking for help. 
• Personal factors: Things like negative experiences with getting treatment in the past, personal opinions or beliefs about treatment and therapy, and motivation may all prevent someone from getting the help they need. 
• Skills of health professionals: In some cases, a health professional may misdiagnose an eating disorder as something else, making the teen believe they do not need treatment for an eating disorder.

Fear in Parents

Anorexia strikes fear in parents as they imagine or actually witness their child increasingly restrict their eating, lose weight, and often become emaciated. They may also be pained to see their child abandon once-loved activities, hobbies, and friendships.

Tensions may mount as the family makes various efforts to get their loved one to eat. Frustration, resentment, and fear may take hold of the family in the face of this intimidating and life-threatening disease. Now what?

Getting Help from a Therapist

You realize that you need professional help with this situation, and you decide to get outside help. The best starting place is your family doctor or a therapist who specializes in treating eating disorders. This therapist can:

• Assess the severity of the condition
• Suggest the appropriate level of care
• Recommend a nutritionist, physician, psychiatrist, and other treatment team members
• Provide support for the parents and siblings, in addition to the sufferer.

A Team Approach

If the therapist advises that outpatient treatment is an option, they will likely suggest a team approach for the teenager. This will involve working with a nutritionist and physician, in addition to the therapist.

Depending on the health of the sufferer, a psychiatrist and/or cardiologist may also be included in the eating disorder treatment team.

Ideally, the three professionals will communicate regularly about your child’s care and work closely with the family. There may also be family therapy involved.

The Time Commitment

Typically, a teenager in outpatient treatment will meet one to three times a week with their providers. Treatment can take place in a hospital, treatment center, therapist’s office, or virtually. Unlike inpatient or residential eating disorder treatment, the teenager in outpatient treatment lives at home and doesn’t stay overnight at the treatment facility.⁴

Outpatient treatment can take a large commitment of family resources for an extended period of time. However, the sacrifice can mean the difference between an ongoing protracted battle with anorexia and a successful early intervention and a hopeful prognosis.

The Cost

Cost can be a challenge for many families. We are all careful with our hard-earned dollars, and the fees for the various eating disorder specialists can add up quickly and substantially.

Those of us in the field are acutely aware of this challenge, and most do our best to offer services at reasonable fees or even on a sliding scale for those with tight budgets. Even with that help, though, it makes a lot of sense to maximize your insurance coverage.

Getting Help with Insurance

If finances are a concern, it is wise to contact your insurance company as you begin exploring your treatment options. They will likely be able to give you local names and numbers of providers that are covered under your insurance benefits.

Armed with those resources, it is wise to speak with each potential provider and find the best fit for your loved one. Once the provider is found, you will want to schedule an appointment immediately, as it is important to determine the severity of the anorexia and access all appropriate medical care necessary.

If you do not have insurance, it is a good idea to talk to your local county health association about any potential help they can offer.

Additionally, some organizations provide scholarships and help to those who have anorexia without the means to pay for treatment. Two of these to consider are the Manna Fund and The Kirsten Haglund Fund.

It may take some time, years possibly, but the possibility of real and lasting recovery is far more likely if you act on your concerns right away and find the support and care for your child to flourish.