There are many approaches to treating eating disorders and other forms of behavioral health conditions. As long as the individual being treated is helped, there’s no right or wrong way to do it. There are faith-based approaches, 12-step approaches, and many others that have proven effective. However, in modern clinical settings, the watchword is “evidence-based.” It’s a term that’s thrown around a lot these days, but for a person outside the clinical world, what does it really mean?
This term means that there is data behind the claims of effectiveness that the institution is making, both about the methods of treatment they employ, and the overall effectiveness of the program. For clinical studies, the scientific method is a must. A statistical breakdown of the program’s effectiveness is part of this and taking a clear-eyed approach to what has been working and what hasn’t is also essential.
We’d like to throw in a disclaimer here; although a scientific approach to the efficacy of therapies and programs is a must, a completely objective approach to something as complex as psychology is impossible. Every individual being treated is different; because of this, a standard baseline can’t be applied. Similarly, some therapists are more effective than others, and some specialize in certain kinds of therapy and are less well-practiced in others. However, these differences are accounted for when outcomes and statistics are compiled.
Evidence-Based Therapy Techniques Used in Eating Disorder Treatment
The practice of psychiatry has grown by leaps and bounds in the past several decades. Through this time, several techniques designed to help patients cope with a variety of mental health conditions have been developed. Many began as treatments for depression, anxiety, or PTSD and have since become widely practiced in treating eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorders as well as other disorders like substance abuse and borderline personality disorder. Some of these evidence-based treatments include:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy – The most widely used form of behavioral therapy, CBT has been honed over decades and can be used to treat almost any kind of mental health disorder. It consists of a talk-heavy approach based on helping individuals understand how emotion affects thinking which affects behavior and vice versa. Over time, CBT helps people in treatment process their emotions without acting on them, which can help the cessation of disordered behaviors. It’s usually administered in one-on-one sessions but can be performed in group therapy sessions as well.
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy – Originally developed as an offshoot of CBT particularly focused on borderline personality disorder and substance abuse, DBT has been shown through clinical trials to be effective in treating eating disorders as well. Like CBT, DBT helps people process their emotions and become mindful of how they affect behaviors. Dialectical” means combining opposite ideas. DBT focuses on helping people accept the reality of their lives and their behaviors, as well as helping them learn to change their lives, including their unhelpful behaviors.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy–Found in many studies to be useful and effective in treating anxiety disorders, SCT is slightly different from CBT and DBT. These techniques stress “healthy” behaviors, which is helpful in correcting harmful behaviors. ACT puts more focus on accepting “abnormalities” in the human psyche and coming to peace with them. It works as an effective complementary therapy with the others mentioned, as well as a major part of ongoing therapy after an individual leaves intensive or residential treatment.
Indicators of A Treatment Center’s Effectiveness
Just as clinicians keep detailed records of the effectiveness of therapeutic techniques, evidence-based treatment centers track the effectiveness of their programs. This helps the providers implement the most efficacious programs and provide the best outcomes for their clients. At Monte Nido, we’ve been tracking our programs’ effectiveness over our more than twenty years of treatment experience, and we’re proud of the results.
From our most recent rounds of research, we’ve compiled some statistics that show why eating disorder treatment with us should be among the top choices for a person suffering from an eating disorder.
At Monte Nido East Bay:
- 77% of clients with Anorexia Nervosa – restricting demonstrated clinically significant weight gain and reported decreased urge to restrict.
- 100% of clients with Bulimia Nervosa reported improvement in or complete cessation of compensatory behaviors
- 88% of all clients improved in eating disorder symptoms on the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDEQ) global score, 87% of clients diagnosed with PTSD at admission improved in symptoms of trauma, and 91% of clients improved on depression symptoms.
- 35% of clients received CPT. Of these, 87% demonstrated significant improvement in their trauma symptoms (as measured by PCL-5 scores) that could be considered remittance of symptoms.
- 100% of clients with Binge Eating Disorder improved to the same extent as clients with other diagnoses on measures of eating disorder symptom severity, quality of life, and depression.
At Monte Nido Chicago:
- 76% of clients with Anorexia Nervosa – restricting demonstrated clinically significant weight gain and reported decreased urge to restrict.
- 91% of clients with Bulimia Nervosa reported improvement in or complete cessation of compensatory behaviors
- 96% of all clients improved in eating disorder symptoms on the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDEQ) global score, 92% of clients diagnosed with PTSD at admission improved in symptoms of trauma, and 85% improved in depression symptoms.
- 32% of clients received Cognitive Processing Therapy to relieve trauma symptoms and, of these, 86% demonstrated significant improvement in their trauma symptoms (as measured by PCL-5 scores that could be considered remittance of symptoms.
At Monte Nido Roxbury Mills:
- 70% of clients with Anorexia Nervosa – restricting demonstrated clinically significant weight gain and reported decreased urge to restrict.
- 100% of clients with Bulimia Nervosa reported improvement in or complete cessation of compensatory behaviors.
- 97% of all clients improved in eating disorder symptoms on the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDEQ) global score, 82% % of clients diagnosed with PTSD at admission improved in symptoms of trauma, and 86% of clients improved on depression symptoms.
- 19% of clients received Cognitive Processing Therapy to relieve trauma symptoms and, of these, 79% demonstrated significant improvement in their trauma symptoms (as measured by PCL-5 scores) that could be considered remittance of symptoms.
Choosing a Treatment Center for Eating Disorders
Finding an eating disorder treatment center is no simple thing, nor should it be. Eating disorder recovery is a long, complex, and sometimes difficult process. When an individual and their family are faced with one of these disorders, it’s essential they know what they are getting into. Because of this, we provide the results of our research studies, performed at our facilities, that show what works about our programs.
If you or a loved one is struggling with an eating disorder or related condition, we strongly encourage you to research your options. Finding the best fit is a combination of price, location, and treatment philosophy. For more information about our programs, please give us a call at 1-888-228-1253 or visit our website. We’ve got information about our locations, programs, and what we treat. Reaching out isn’t always easy, but it’s the start of a full recovery and a happier, healthier life.
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