Therapy for eating disorders should include a multi-disciplinary team of specialists who understand the cognitive, behavioral, emotional, medical and nutritional needs of the patient. The therapist typically coordinates a treatment team that consists of a dietician specializing in eating disorders, a physician who provides medical monitoring and a psychiatrist who prescribes any necessary medications for mood-related disorders. Other physician specialists may be involved if the eating disorder has resulted in medical complications.

Effective treatment will help the patient:

• Determine why the eating disorder started
• Understand the reasons why the eating disorder exists
• Develop coping skills for the feelings or problems the eating disorder copes with
• Reach their normal weight range with well-balanced caloric intake
• Learn to eat without having to control food, weight or exercise
• Stop restricting, bingeing or purging
• Develop healthy self-esteem
• Accept their normal weight through improved body image
• Tolerate uncomfortable emotions
• Be more flexible in their thinking and behavior
• Face their fears of weight gain and/or being out of control
• Resolve underlying issues that contributed to the eating disorder

Treatment for eating disorders is typically a long-term process that can take years. Not only does treatment need to focus on the eating disorder behaviors, most patients have other diagnostic issues, such as depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder or post traumatic stress disorder, that also require treatment. Research shows that, on average, eating disorder patients have at least three other diagnoses in addition to the eating disorder.

A common misconception is that if a patient's depression, trauma issues, family problems, etc., are resolved the eating disorder will go away on its own. When anorexia or bulimia is diagnosed, it needs to be treated with appropriate psychological interventions. Because they are conditions in and of themselves, regardless of what other problems they are being used to cope with, they need specialized treatment.