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Toledo Center recognizes the vital role parents play in their child’s eating disorder recovery. We believe that parents can be powerful and active agents of healing for their children, and we also recognize that this role doesn’t begin at discharge. Rather, we believe that parents and caregivers should be recognized as an integral part of their child’s treatment team from the day of admission.
To welcome parents and caregivers to the table, we developed Toledo Center’s Family Education and Coaching Program. This program is designed to empower parents and caregivers to become part of the recovery team for their child. We want them to better understand the process of treatment and recovery and feel comfortable in their critical support role for their child both during treatment and after discharge.
At Toledo Center, we believe in the power of parents and caregivers to help motivate and sustain healthy change in a child with an eating disorder. We believe that with education, skill building, and some coaching, parents and caregivers can grow into powerful and active agents of healing for their loved one.
Odyssey Behavioral Healthcare’s AVP of Clinical Services, Kate Fisch, LCSW, discusses Toledo Center’s family education and coaching program.
Program Components
Toledo Center’s Family Education and Coaching Program is a five-week curriculum that includes one-hour weekly meetings with one of our eating disorder specialists during which each family learns about the basics of eating disorders, eating disorder treatment, and eating disorder recovery.
Our dedicated eating disorder specialists walk alongside families and teach them how to create a pro-recovery household post discharge, set limits with their loved one, communicate using best practices, and provide support during the ongoing recovery process.
Week 1:
- What to Expect
- Eating Disorders 101 Psychoeducation
- What Eating Disorders Are and What They Aren’t
Week 2:
- Gaining Understanding – Parents aren’t to blame, but they can contribute
- Evaluation of the Each Parent’s Own Relationship With Food, Their Bodies, and More
Week 3:
- Homework Review – Myths and misperceptions of eating disorders
- Answer Questions and Provide Support
- General Reflection: How the program’s going
Week 4:
- Externalizing the Eating Disorder
- What To Say and What Not To Say
- How To Talk To Extended Family
Week 5: Begin Discharge Preparations
- How To Create A Supportive Home Environment
- The Dos and Don’ts At Mealtime
- Relapse Warning Signs and What To Do
- Confirmation of Outpatient Treatment Team and the Step-Down Plan