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Family-based (FBT) or Maudsley treatment is a research validated treatment for anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN). This time limited eating disorder
treatment is particularly effective for treating adolescents. In fact, family-based eating disorder treatment is the only evidence-based treatment for anorexia in
adolescents. Available at Webster Wellness Professionals in St. Louis, it can be a cost-effective alternative to other treatments. To learn more about this or our
other evidence-based eating disorder treatment methods offered at Webster Wellness Professionals in St. Louis please contact us to
consult a professional or schedule an appointment at our St. Louis eating disorder and weight control treatment clinic.
Family-based treatment of eating disorders is also commonly referred to as the Lock-LeGrange Model or the Maudsley Approach. This treatment is called the Maudsely Approach because family interventions for the treatment of anorexia were originally created and developed at the Maudsley Hospital in London. This family based treatment approach has been expanded to include the treatment of bulimia nervosa as well as other psychiatric conditions, including obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The extent to which a family plays an essential role in helping someone recover from anorexia nervosa has been acknowledged since the condition was first recognized over one hundred and fifty years ago; however, how to best involve the family in treatment has not always been clear. In the past, family and parents sometimes experienced blame and felt that they were a cause in the development of the eating disorder in a family member. While this situation can be true on occasion, it is most often not the case. This incorrect belief, whether believed by the parents or a professional, can have a negative effect on a patient’s recovery and the parents’ ability to be a great resource.
The family-based treatment approach emphasizes the extremely positive role parents can play in helping an adolescent or child overcome anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. A main assumption of this treatment for eating disorders is that the individual with anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa has been diverted from healthy development by the eating disorder. In this situation, the parents’ role becomes focused on demonstrating they are committed to helping the teen resume healthy psychosocial development by temporarily and respectfully adopting a more involved role to address the immediate health needs of their child. This evidence-based treatment method assumes that the teen is no longer functioning adequately at the adolescent level and needs assistance to return to normal development, similar to a teen with a life-threatening medical condition such as juvenile diabetes or Crohn’s disease. In this form of eating disorder treatment, the therapist functions as a coach to the parents to help them work with the adolescent to achieve improved eating habits that will result in restoration within a healthy weight range. By maintaining a focus on overall health and weight restoration, the eating disorder relinquishes control of the teen, allowing the child to return to normal development.