James Donaldson on Mental Health - Family-Based Treatment for Eating Disorders

How is family-based treatment structured?

FBT generally involves roughly 20 weekly sessions, divided into three phases.

Throughout all three phases, the clinician works primarily with the parents or caregivers, while being supportive of the adolescent who is in distress.

At the start of each session, the child has a short check-in with the FBT clinician to check their weight and get basic mental health support.

Then, parents or caregivers, along with the child and sometimes their siblings, meet with the clinician for coaching and support around their work to nourish their child.

The first phase usually lasts for 10 to 12 sessions, and it’s where the bulk of the work takes place.

“Phase one is all about re-nourishing the adolescent,” Dr.

During phase one, parents focus on all aspects of the child’s eating.

The child usually does not attend school for the first week or two, in part because they need to conserve energy while they gain weight.

Then, if the treatment is going well, the parents might supervise the child a bit less as phase one goes on.