Eating disorders are the deadliest of mental illnesses, and impact an estimated 9% of Americans. Their prevalence has increased in the years since the pandemic, with eating disorder-related health visits among people younger than 17 increasing by 107% between 2018 and 2022, according to data from Trilliant Health.

Treating eating disorders requires specialized training because of the high mortality rate, level of complexity involved, and the necessity of a team approach. Therapists without this crucial training, while well-intended, can cause more harm, and Dr. Claire Hill, Psy. D., LCP, a licensed clinical psychologist, recognized that the Fredericksburg area was underserved by this specialty when she opened PsychED Recovery in 2023. This Fredericksburg-based eating disorder treatment center provides personalized, client-centered treatment for disordered eating.

“We look at the whole picture,” Dr. Hill said. “We tailor our individual treatment plan to the patient, and we also incorporate families very heavily into the treatment process, even with young adults, because we know that that’s most efficacious.”

PsychED’s team also includes an in-house dietitian who is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS) and brings nutrition counseling and education to the treatment plans.

The informal intensive outpatient treatment model that PsychED delivers to patients has in the past been missing in the Fredericksburg area. This shortage of dedicated treatment options has left many people driving to Northern Virginia to access treatment at larger facilities that can’t adapt a personalized approach to care for each patient due to the volume of cases they have.

Dr. Hill had a vision to provide a more personalized level of care closer to home, because her experience and clinical work has taught her the critical importance of access to quality treatment in lasting and sustained recovery.

Comprehensive Care

One of the reasons eating disorder diagnoses increased drastically during the pandemic was that anxiety and depression, which are often the precursors to eating disorders, also increased during that time.

This is why Dr. Hill stresses the importance of a “comprehensive” approach to eating disorder treatment.

Intake assessments screen for all kinds of mental health issues, because if disordered eating is treated in isolation, the underlying issue will persist.

Parents who aren’t sure if it’s an eating disorder or another issue that their child may be facing can call and walk through the assessment process with PsychED to ensure treatment targets the root of the problem.

“I just missed it.”

A sad fact about eating disorders is that an individual or their loved ones may not recognize the signs until the disorder is severe.

“When I talk to parents during an intake appointment, it’s quite common that grief is in the room with us, as the parents may say, ‘I feel horrible. I just missed it. I didn’t realize anything was happening,’” Dr. Hill said. That is unfortunately extremely typical, she said, and a function of how eating disorders operate on such a deadly scale.

But parents can be alert to potential signs that a child’s attitude toward food and body image could be moving in a negative direction, she said.

“Notice the things that your children are saying or not saying about food, and also activity and bodies,” she said.

Pay attention if a child is trying to cut a specific food out of their diet, counting macros, obsessing over time at the gym or avoiding entire nutrient categories, such as carbs or sugar.

Children who are overly rigid about eating habits, and avoid or get anxious about social events based on the food that will be available, may also be showing signs of developing an eating disorder.

“It’s important to remember that an over-focus on health is in fact unhealthy,” Dr. Hill said. “It sounds weird, but it’s called orthorexia, and it’s very much an eating disorder.” Parents often point to these habits as “positive” behaviors and that their children are making “healthy” changes in their lifestyles when, really, it’s disordered and unhealthy. It’s restrictive and rigid, and patterns of food-limiting behaviors (diets) are inherent in eating disorders.

These kinds of behaviors can be signs of disordered eating. Intervening with therapy when eating is disordered can be a critical step to preventing a severe eating disorder.

“We want to stop it before it gets severe, because once it’s severe, recovery is much more difficult,” Dr. Hill said.

Setting a Healthy Example

Parents play a huge role in helping children develop a sense of how to take care of their bodies and how to view them, Dr. Hill said.

“We, as parents, talk about ourselves and food and other people’s bodies, and kids hear it. They pick up on it,” she said. “You don’t necessarily have to be body-positive all the time, but it’s important that you do respect your body, and acknowledge that taking care of it includes things like eating, being active, etc. And that we don’t judge ourselves or others for what we look like.”

Getting Started with PsychED Recovery

If you or someone in your family is showing signs of mental health problems that may be tied to disordered eating, reach out to PsychED Recovery by calling 540-940-6394 or requesting an appointment at psychedrecovery.com.

The first step is a 15-minute free consultation to get a sense of what is going on and whether PsychED is a good fit. Patients then schedule a roughly 75-minute initial evaluation with to get to a treatment plan recommendation.

Like most eating disorder treatment providers, PsychED Recovery does not take insurance; however, Dr. Hill says this allows the firm to be more flexible in pricing its plans, and the small setting close to home can make PsychED a more convenient and cost-effective option than providers in Northern Virginia.