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.
