Extended assessment
If after the assessment it is felt that treatment from our service may be useful to you, we will usually offer you an extended assessment. These are 6 sessions, lasting around an hour. This will give you an opportunity to talk about your eating disorder symptoms and to start making small changes if you feel able. It also allows some space for you to discuss the impact the eating disorder may be having on the rest of your life.
After the extended assessment, we will be in a better position to direct you into the most appropriate course of treatment. Either within our service, within other NHS services or outside agencies where appropriate.
What happens after the extended assessment?
There are a number of treatment options available within our service. These are either combined group sessions or single one to one sessions or a mixture of both. Depending on the outcome of your assessment the treatment options may be from one of the following.
Support from a dietitian
The first treatment session you will be invited to is our food choices group. This is an opportunity for people with eating disorders to explore information about food, nutrition and other topics related to weight control with a dietitian in a group setting.
In some cases you may be offered an individual appointment with a dietician. Initially the dietitians will offer a dietetic assessment to determine the nutritional adequacy of your diet and offer guidance as required.
Cognitive behaviour therapy
Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) is a supported self-help group which involves exploring the psychological and physiological reasons for eating disorders, the factors that maintain binge-eating, vomiting and/or laxative use and restricted eating, regular balanced eating, problem-solving and the role of body image. This is a 2-hour session run over 7 sessions and weeks.
Cognitive analytic therapy
Cognitive analytic therapy (CAT) brings together understandings from cognitive psychotherapies (such as CBT) and from psychoanalytic approaches into one integrated, user friendly and effective therapy. CAT is a collaborative programme of looking at the way you think, feel and act and is tailored to meet your individual needs.
Radically open dialectical behaviour therapy
Radically open dialectical behaviour therapy (RO-DBT) is a therapy for people with an over-controlled coping style and with a treatment-resistant disorder such as depression and anorexia. RO-DBT helps address emotional loneliness and teaches useful skills for increasing awareness of how social signalling affects relationships as well as how to be more open and receptive to the environment in order to learn.
Maudsley model of anorexia nervosa treatment for adults
MANTRA is a specialist integrative therapy which was developed for the treatment of anorexia nervosa. It typically consists of 20 to 40 sessions which aim to address the cognitive, emotional, relational and biological factors which tend to maintain anorexia by working out what keeps people stuck and helping them find alternative and more appropriate ways of coping.
Family therapy
Family therapy is therapy which involves the client who has an eating disorder and their family. It is aimed at helping and supporting the family. This is usually a 1 hour and 30 minutes and can be a one off session or a series of sessions over a period of time.
Occupational therapy
The occupational therapist uses specialist assessment to identify how an eating disorder is affecting an individual’s occupational performance.
Eating disorders can affect all areas of occupational functioning, such as:
- meal preparation
- food and clothes shopping
- managing difficult emotions
- work or study demands
- socialising with friends and family
During occupational therapy, you will identify areas of your life that you wish to make changes in and work collaboratively with the occupational therapist to achieve these goals.
Occupational therapy can be provided on either a one to one basis or as part of a group.
Peer support
Peer support is a relatively new intervention offered by the Eating Disorder service. It recognises the role and value of lived experience when offering support to those with mental health difficulties, we currently offer a range of peer-based interventions, including:
- sharing recovery stories
- supporting clients to create recovery plans and decide on recovery goals.
- attending community appointments or activities together
- signposting to resources, activities, and opportunities
- community interventions such as attending coffee shops together or completing weekly food shopping.
- supporting with clinical groups by offering a lived experience perspective
- individual support offered before and after initial assessments
The interventions are person-centred and designed to meet the client where they are at, offering a non-clinical space in which to reflect on possible ways toward recovery.