3 Treatment Techniques for Eating Disorders

Distress Tolerance

This is used to help patients modify risky or unhelpful behavior patterns. As extremely high levels of anxiety are very common amongst eating disorder sufferers, distress-tolerance skills are used to help cope with this symptom. Some tools include distraction and self-soothing techniques.

Assertiveness Training

Assertiveness involves speaking up for one’s feelings and needs. This is a skill that is characteristically very difficult for individuals who struggle with eating disorders.

Guided imagery

A model of guided imagery therapy suggests that imagery therapy has multiple levels of action and can assist these patients in the regulation of affect by providing an external source of soothing and also by enhancing self-soothing.