Books on Anorexia

There are many good books about anorexia, these are a select few that have proven most helpful to us

• Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder by James Lock and Daniel Le Grange

  • This book is wonderful in explaining the complexity and dangers of anorexia and giving clear direction about FBT. If you are unable to find an FBT therapist you can work with, you may consider using this book and the manual below with your therapist as your handbook for therapy.

• Treatment Manual for Anorexia Nervosa, Second Edition: A Family-Based Approach by James Lock, Daniel le Grange, W. Stewart Agras and Christopher Dare

  • A clinician's manual for FBT.

• Brave Girl Eating by Harriet Brown

  • A mother's story of dealing with her daughter's anorexia combined with current understanding of the disorder and the need for families to be empowered and embraced in treatment.

• Eating With Your Anorexic by Laura Collins

  • This book is a personal memoir that advocates for FBT.

• Life Without Ed: How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too by Jenni Schaefer

  • Jenni suffered from anorexia. By learning to separate her anorexia from herself , she recovered. This book, along with her therapist, Thom Rutledge's book The Self Forgiveness Handbook both help understand the power a person has to objectify anorexia or other negative talk as a strong voice in the mind that can be discounted and skills that can be learned to do just that.

Books on Communication

These books are very helpful in learning how to communicate when your child is emotionally out of control

• Just Listen by Mark Goulston

  • This book gives practical steps to lower anxiety in the person you are talking with increase the probability of him/her willing to work with you.

• Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan and Al Switzler

  • This book gives you strategies for talking in a way that defuses tension and allows for communication, especially in complicated conversations.

Websites and Books on Evidence Based Therapy

For Mental Illnesses that Often Co-occur with Anorexia

• American Psychological Association

  • The purpose of this website is to provide information about effective treatments for psychological disorders. Basic descriptions are provided for each psychological disorder and treatment. In addition, for each treatment, the website lists key references, clinical resources, and training opportunities.

• Society of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology

  • This webpage is focused on child psychology and evidence based therapy for children under age 25

• You Are Not Your Brain by Jeffrey Schwartz and Rebecca Gladding

  • This book identifies destructive brain patterns and how to change them. One of the examples they use throughout the book is that of a person with an eating disorder. Their therapy has been especially successful for OCD.

• Freeing Your Child from Anxiety By Tamar Chansky

  • This is compassionate and practical. It explains the anxiety-brain's malfunction and gives practical advice and steps for the different anxieties. All the therapy presented is evidence based.

• Freeing Your Child From OCD by Tamar Chansky

  • This is compassionate and practical. It explains the OCD-brain's malfunction and gives practical advice and steps for the different anxieties. All the therapy presented is evidence based.

Talks on Anorexia

• Eating Disorders from the Inside Out: Laura Hill at TEDxColumbus

  • Dr. Laura Hill explains verbally and visually about the difference in the brain of someone with anorexia and someone without anorexia while they eat. She also describes the noise in the mind of the sufferer.

• The Truth About Eating Disorders: Anorexia

  • An informational news report with input from professionals and Emily Wierenga, a formal sufferer of anorexia. Good information. The only discomfort we felt watching it was when they stated, "Anorexia is about control." To us, anorexia is about the loss of control and the need to have the help of others to get back into control. Besides that, we feel this is a good informational clip. Emily wrote the book Chasing Silhouettes: How to help a loved one battling an eating disorder

Organizations about Eating Disorders

• National Eating Disorders Association
• Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders
• Maudsley Parents
• helpguide.org on Anorexia-Nervosa

Resources to Find FBT Therapists

• Maudsley Parents Provider List
• Psychology Today

Anxiety

Most children with anorexia deal with anxiety too. In fact, anxiety is the number one mental illness in childhood and the most treatable. We feel it often is the ongoing trigger that allows for other mental illnesses to enter so the more we understand how to help our child with anxiety, the more we can help them have skills for life and a much great probability of better mental health.

• 9 Things Every Parent with an Anxious Child Should Try
• KidsHealth - Anxiety
• Renee Jain
• What to Do (and Not Do) When Children Are Anxious
• Tamar Chansky