Five Tips for Seeking Eating Disorder Treatment in Dallas, Texas

Seeking eating disorder treatment can be overwhelming. This task can sometimes intimidate or overwhelm people and get in the way of getting treatment. Here’s five tips to make finding eating disorder treatment in Dallas easier.

Advocate for Yourself

If you think you have an eating disorder, then it’s important that you get help. Unfortunately, if a doctor or therapist isn’t eating-disorder informed, then it can be difficult to get the referral you need. It’s important to advocate for yourself to make your voice heard.

Advocating for yourself may look different based on each situation, but it might include being 100% honest with your providers, expressing your needs and feelings, asking for help from friends and family, or seeing a qualified professional if your needs aren’t being met.

Know Your Options & What You’re Looking For

There’s several options for eating disorder treatment. There’s a few ways to find out what options are available in Dallas. Here’s a few ideas:

• Call your insurance company to see which providers or treatment centers are in-network. Insurance companies can provide a list of providers and you can use the contact information provided to call local eating disorder professionals.
• Search using a search engine to see which treatment centers accept Medicaid. A search could look like, “Medicaid Eating Disorder Treatment Dallas”
• Get an assessment done with a treatment provider. An assessment is an opportunity for you to share with a provider your symptoms and goals for treatment. Treatment centers will likely require you to get lab work done prior to starting treatment. Once they have all this information, they can then determine which level-of-care you need.
• Utilize Psychology Today. Psychology Today is an amazing tool that lets you search for therapists and treatment centers in your area.
• Use Eating Disorder Hope’s Treatment Finder. This can let you search treatment options by state.

It’s also important to know what you’re looking for. While providers do get a say in what level-of-care they are willing to provide, you can advocate for yourself if you disagree. It’s important to remain open to their feedback, though. Also be clear on if you want in-person treatment or virtual treatment. Knowing what you want can help make the process easier.

Call Eating Disorder Solutions for Help 855-783-2519

Choose Eating Disorder Treatment Providers Carefully

Eating disorders are complicated mental illnesses to treat. Given how complex and dangerous they are, it’s important to see a qualified professional. Some ways to check to see if a provider is qualified is through accreditation.

Treatment centers may be accredited through JCAHO. JCAHO is an accrediting board that sees if treatment centers are providing quality, safe, and effective care. You can ask treatment providers if they are accredited and to provide their certificate.

If you are seeing an outpatient therapist or dietitian, there’s two ways to go about this. You can ask them about their experience or see if they are certified with the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IAEDP). If they are, their credentials might include “CEDS” or “CEDRD”

Confront Barriers to Treatment

There’s a lot that can make getting treatment difficult. There may be external barriers, such as finances, familial responsibilities, or lack of social support. However, it’s also important to be aware of internal barriers.

Internal barriers are things in your emotional world that could be getting in the way. For example, if you’re prioritizing school over treatment, then you might need to check yourself and reevaluate your priorities. Definitely easier said than done, but it’s important!

Other internal barriers could include being in denial about the severity of the eating disorder, not wanting to give up the eating disorder, or feeling embarrassed about needing treatment. However, there’s certainly more that could go on internally to get in the way. Talk with a therapist or trusted friend if you’re noticing this in yourself.

Give Yourself Permission to Get Treatment

Often people with eating disorders struggle with perfectionism or fear of being a burden to others. This can make it difficult to seek treatment because the reality of your needs are in conflict with the beliefs you have about yourself. This can be paralyzing or at the very least, shame-inducing.

Connect with the part of yourself that decided to read this article. There’s a part of you that wants to get help so you can be nourished. Let yourself receive that. It’s okay to give yourself permission to get help. At the end of the day, you’re human and it’s okay to need help sometimes.

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About Our Sponsor:

At Eating Disorder Solutions, compassion is at the root of everything we do. We understand that eating disorders are complex, deeply rooted mental health and medical conditions which require personalized treatment for a successful recovery. By integrating behavioral health modalities and clinical interventions, we endeavor to address disordered eating at its source.

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The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective on eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer a discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Published August 30th, 2021 on EatingDisorderHope.com
Reviewed & Approved on August 30th, 2021, by Jacquelyn Ekern MS, LPC