Psychotherapy is the main treatment for eating disorders--there is no treatment
of symptoms without also treating the root cause, which is psychiatric in
nature. There are questions about whether it is caused by genetics, brain
chemistry, environment etc., but it is known that it is best treated with
a form of psychotherapy--the type you choose-individual, group, inpatient,
outpatient, partial hospitalization, will depend on your eating disorder,
resources in your area and individual style.
Once therapy is underway, nutritional intervention can be helpful in managing an appropriate weight, assisting with regular eating patterns, education about shopping and meal preparation, and lessening eating disordered compensatory behaviors.
