Clinical Services

Our Philosophy | Initial Assessment | Consultation | Family, Individual & Group Therapy | Parent Training Program | Nutrition Services | Medical Management | Educational Workshop | Childhood Feeding Disorders

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We offer a variety of treatment packages to meet the needs of the individual for intensive services. Please see the Description of Services. In addition, we also offer these services separately.

Family Therapy

We provide treatment and guidance for the families of individuals with eating disorders. Families are an important resource for someone seeking eating disorder treatment. Depending on the age of the client and the needs of the family, this treatment modality may be the primary vehicle of treatment or we may use intermittent family meetings to supplement treatment. The frequency of family therapy is a mutual decision between the client and the therapist. In addition, we offer a group parent training program that provides families with skills and support in the management of these disorders. See group parent training program.

Individual Therapy

We provide individual therapy that emphasizes approaches used in empirically validated treatments for these disorders. Empirically validated treatments used in the Duke Eating Disorders Program are those that have been tested in research studies, compared to alternative treatment approaches, and found to be effective.

Group Therapy

We offer several skill-focused and psychoeducational groups that address issues such as distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and body image. A description of a sample of these groups follows. We are constantly adding new groups based on the needs of our clients. If you are seeking a particular treatment group, please do not hesitate to contact us as we are always looking to improve our services.

Spouse Group: Open to all spouses of individuals who are receiving treatment for an eating disorder, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THIS TREATMENT IS AT DUKE. The purpose of this group is to give knowledge and skills to help in the management of these serious and stressful illnesses. Topics that will be addressed include emotion regulation skills, distress tolerance skills, and communication/relationship skills. Criteria for group: Call (919) 416-2464 to set-up a 30 minute introductory meeting.

Younger Adolescent Group: This is group designed to teach social skills, emotion regulation and relationship building skills to adolescents aged 12-14 years old. There is a strong focus on managing peer issues at school. Discussion of issues related to the eating disorder discouraged. Permission of the individual therapist is required. This group runs for 12 weeks.

Adolescent Skills Group: This group is for high school students, age 18 and under, who are still living at home with their families. The goals of the group are to provide members with psychoeducation and to help them learn how to tolerate distress, how to regulate their emotions, how to become more mindful in their approach to life, and how to enhance their skills in relating to other people.

Adult Skills Group: Weekly group for adults struggling with eating disorders based on the principles of Marsha Linehan's Dialectical Behavior Therapy. Group focuses on instructing and practicing skills which include Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance, and Interpersonal Effectiveness, to reduce reliance on eating disorder behaviors and improve overall quality of life.

BED Group: This group is designed to assist individuals struggling with binge eating by providing them with peer support and skills to manage their disorder. A variety of skills will be introduced, including mindfulness and DBT.

Body Image Treatment Group: This is an 8 week group designed to improve body image, the view one has of one’s physical appearance. The focus of this group is working on improving one’s view of one’s physical appearance and to increase comfort with the experience of one’s body. It is designed for adults aged 20 and up.

Mindful Eating Group: This group will meet twice a week during the lunch hour for six weeks. The group’s goals are to provide individuals with an overview of mindful eating, skills to manage the barriers to mindful eating, and a safe environment for practicing these skills. Areas of focus include appetite awareness, emotional regulation, facing fears, meal planning, and food myths. Individuals must be following a meal plan in order to participate.

Parent Group: This is a unique skills-based group designed to teach parents skills to manage eating disorders in their children. We teach behavior management skills, emotion regulation skills, and “anti-perfectionism” skills so that parents can not only help their children manage their disorder but help them to learn strategies to help prevent a relapse of symptoms. In addition to skills, parents learn from and receive support from other parents undergoing similar experiences.

Sibling Group: Open to all siblings of individuals who are receiving treatment at the Duke Eating Disorder Program. The purpose of this group is to give siblings an opportunity to share their concerns and get their questions answered with other individuals who are undergoing the same experience. Currently the group combines a variety of age groups as it is felt that each age group brings a helpful perspective to bear on the management of these disorders. Criteria for group: age 13-20. (NOTE: older siblings are welcome to come if they are comfortable with the presence of younger age group members.) This is an ongoing group that meets once per month.

Goal Group: This group is designed for adults who have struggled with an eating disorder but are unsure of their goals for treatment. This is a 6-week group that helps individuals evaluate the benefits of the status quo versus making changes. By the end of the group, participants will have developed a plan of action to implement whatever they have decided on their goal to be.