Most often, eating disorders tend to go unnoticed by family members until they begin to notice things like rapid weight loss, signs of weakness, not eating during family meal times, etc. When noticed, there are many different approaches families can take to ensure the well-being of the member with the disorder(s). Visiting a nutritionist, or a therapist is one of the first approaches talked about in research. Nutritionists provide clients with ways to ensure they eat the right things for their unique body, by providing a breakdown of foods, meal plans, etc. Therapists also provide clients with one-on-one or family-based support by resolving and creating an action plan to refrain from the eating disorder reappearing. One of the family-based approaches therapists take involves confronting the symptoms with the client once he/she is aware of the disorder, whatever it may be (Gerstein & Pollack, 2016). Confronting the symptoms with clients is basically when therapists will begin asking the individual how they are feeling daily, in terms of mood and physical (any pain in the body, etc.) This helps to break down the root cause, or also work on the current reasons as to why the client has developed the disorder. In addition, when families are aware of the symptoms and causes, it creates room for action to educate family members on the effects of the disorder. Many family members begin re-feeding, creating more mealtimes, and finding and working on ways to make food time enjoyable in the household (Lock and Grange, 2007).
The next step is to help with stigma within and outside the household. If the client has siblings, therapists begin working to get siblings to stop creating stigma; parenting in the household to cause awkwardness or harsh feelings of the individual who is suffering, monitoring the child's behavior and awarding success, therapists work with parents to ensure they are not force-feeding or overdoing it essentially; you don’t want to force your child to eat vegetables just because they are healthier; it may actually backfire (Balarotto et al. 2016). Also, when parents see their child getting back to “normal” or begin assimilating better into household meal practices, it may by effect create more paranoia for them; this is when therapists and nutritionists will begin evaluating the readiness of the adolescent or child taking control of their own lifestyle meal choices (Gerstein and Pollack, 2016) Also, they look at the ability to maintain their weight or begin encouraging clients to maintain a healthy weight through daily physical activity like sports (Grange et al., 2010). Thus, nutritionists and therapists help family members understand how eating disorders develop, common methods of treatment, and how they can behave supportively toward the family member with the eating disorder (Gerstein and Pollack, 2016). These are some of the methods clients/family members take to ensure clients receive proper help when dealing with an eating disorder(s).
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We have to remember not everyone considers family an important factor in their lives. Resistance from family involvement may make it harder for intervention or treatment; it comes down to the individual and varies case by case at the end of the day. Family is vital in research, however, there are many limitations to research; how many people were surveyed, interviewed, when or how they were interviewed etc. This is why we cannot pinpoint exactly how or why eating disorders persist and how they can be resolved. One can assume that eating disorders will only be resolved once society’s unrealistic ideals are diminished which will probably never happen. In summary, families are considered an important factor when we look at the role of family and possible areas of treatment. Wherever possible, family intervention should be monitored, and ways to help clients both physically and psychologically are vital; ensuring the client receives the right amount of time, effort, and support. Furthermore, we live in a society that reinforces the idea that: to be happy and successful we must be thin. Today, you cannot read a magazine, or watch a television show or movie without reproduced images or messages containing and encouraging “thinness”. Whether it be blatantly or subconsciously, the message that is sent across various platforms is that being fat is essentially abnormal or not okay. Thus, eating-disordered behavior may be classified as a defense mechanism or a way to cope with feelings individuals may not be able to express in a society or household where being skinny or fit is admired. Just as individuals with drug addictions depend on their drugs, individuals with eating disorders develop or persist in symptoms to further cope with emotions and feelings that they may or may not necessarily be able to control.
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