Eating Disorder Treatment Children and Teenagers
NHS statistics show that difficulties with eating are common among children and young people. In 2023, 12.3% of children aged 11–16 and 59.4% of young people aged 17–19 screened positive for possible eating problems.
Screening positive does not mean that someone has a clinically impairing eating disorder. It indicates an increased likelihood of broader difficulties with eating that may need further attention. In the same study, the estimated prevalence of a clinically impairing eating disorder was 2.6% among 11–16-year-olds and 12.5% among 17–19-year-olds.
If you are concerned about your child’s eating, you do not need to wait for their difficulties to become more severe before asking for advice.
You And Your Child Are In Safe Hands
We understand that recognising an eating disorder in your child can be overwhelming and confusing. Knowing where to turn and understanding treatment options can be really hard.
We specialise in treating children from the age of 4. We work with all eating disorders, with ARFID, Anorexia, and Binge Eating Disorder being the most common.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch – our compassionate team is ready to listen and guide you towards the best path for your child’s long-term recovery.
Why Early Intervention Matters for Your Child’s Recovery
Eating disorders do not have one single cause. They can develop through a complex interaction of biological, psychological, developmental, neurodevelopmental, family, social and environmental factors. The factors involved will be different for every young person.
For some young people, eating disorder thoughts or behaviours can become a way of coping with difficult emotions, experiences or circumstances. Other young people may struggle with anxiety, perfectionism, body image, sensory sensitivities, fears about eating, or feeling a need for certainty and control. Sometimes it is not immediately clear why the eating disorder has developed.
Early assessment gives us an opportunity to understand your child’s individual experience and identify the support they may need. Getting appropriate help early can prevent patterns from becoming more established and improve a young person’s prospects for recovery.
What Does Treatment Involve?
Like all our services, your child’s treatment will be personalised to them. We take account of their age, developmental stage, eating disorder presentation, physical health, individual preferences and family circumstances.
For younger children, therapy may include developmentally appropriate creative activities that help them communicate their experiences, understand emotions and feel safer around food.
Treatment for older children and teenagers may draw on approaches such as CBT-E or MANTRA when these are appropriate for the young person’s age, presentation and needs. NICE also recommends eating-disorder-focused family therapies as first-line treatments for some eating disorders in children and young people. We will discuss the available treatment options honestly and explain what our clinic can provide.
Parents and carers usually have an important role in a young person’s recovery. The nature of their involvement will depend on the child’s age, needs, wishes, capacity and safety.
Most clients attend weekly therapy sessions. Nutritional support may also be recommended where appropriate. We consider your child’s psychological, nutritional and physical-health needs throughout treatment and, where necessary, work collaboratively with their GP or other healthcare professionals.
If your child needs medical, psychiatric or more intensive eating disorder care, we will discuss this with you openly and help you understand the most appropriate next steps.
Including You in Recovery
Parents and carers can play an important role in helping a child or young person recover. We want you to understand the treatment, feel able to raise concerns and know how you can support your child between sessions.
At the beginning of treatment, the therapist will discuss with you and your child how parental involvement will work and what information can appropriately be shared. These arrangements will reflect your child’s age, level of understanding, needs, wishes and safety, and can be reviewed as treatment progresses.
Wherever possible, we will work with your child to help them share appropriate updates with you themselves. This might involve helping them decide what they would like you to understand, preparing for a conversation or discussing something together during a joint appointment. Supporting young people to communicate in this way can help them develop confidence, express their needs and establish healthy boundaries, while keeping them actively involved in decisions about their care.
We recognise that not every child or young person will be ready or able to communicate these updates themselves. In these circumstances, and where appropriate consent is in place, the therapist can agree another way of providing parents with relevant general information about the direction of treatment, progress and how they can help at home.
Your child also needs to feel that therapy provides a safe and confidential space. We will not usually share everything discussed during their individual sessions. We will explain the boundaries of confidentiality clearly so that both you and your child know what to expect.
You can contact the therapist to share relevant information or concerns. There may be occasions when confidentiality limits what the therapist can tell you in response, but the information you provide can still help us understand and support your child. If we become concerned about your child’s safety or wellbeing, we will follow our safeguarding responsibilities and involve the appropriate people.
Starting Your Child’s Recovery Journey
We know how overwhelming it can be to seek help for your child. Our goal is to make the process as easy and supportive as possible. Here’s how to begin your child’s recovery with us:
Initial Contact: Reach out in whichever way you feel most comfortable. We’ll take your details and answer any questions you have about your child’s care.
Complete Some Forms: We’ll send you three forms to complete which help us to understand the support your child may need.
Allocation: We’ll confirm that everything is set up and answer any questions that you have before allocating your child to one of our specialists.
Consultation: Your child, with you as well depending on their age and consent, will get a free 15-20 minute phone call or online appointment with their allocated specialist so that your child can meet them and ask any questions that either of you have.
Begin Treatment: We’ll arrange the first therapy session, which marks the start of their journey to recovery.