BRIDGING THE GAP
This 12 week program is for families who are looking for more support with the complex assignment of treating an Eating Disorder. This program is for families who need support with; re-feeding, meal planning, meal support, addressing and understanding the eating disorder and managing the stress of meal times. Our goal in designing this program is to help take some of the pressure off of parents to be in charge of all the decisions around food and aims to provide ongoing support through this stressful time. The loved one you’re supporting may have attended treatment, be waiting for treatment or be new to getting support for their eating disorder. Led by our nutrition lead, Tracy Harper with support from Carly Crawford and other CCP therapists.
This program is designed for:
We support all individuals who are experiencing eating disorders or disordered eating. Eating disorders can affect anyone regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation and our program embraces cultural, racial and gender inclusivity. We strive to create a safe, respectful, trauma-informed therapeutic environment where everyone feels cared for and valued while working to create a full life.
This program is geared mainly to individuals who are under 16-18 years of age and have a parent or supportive other who would be a key part of their treatment team.
This program aims to help support the person with the Eating Disorder/ Disordered Eating with one other member of their family (or more depending on circumstance) It’s designed to help support behaviour change for individuals who need help reducing the symptoms of their Eating Disorders.
This program looks at the person with the Eating Disorder and their family as “the client” and looks to treat them as a whole.
The symptoms we are trying to interrupt may look like:
-Only eating specific foods and unable to expand their variety.
-Mealtimes being challenging and conflict-ridden.
-Challenging and negotiating food choices consistently with parent/supportive other.
-Not eating enough to sustain an optimal weight.
-Eating in a way that feels out of control or in a way that makes you feel like you have to “fix” it.
Why we recommend this program?
Healing from an eating disorder requires nutritional rehabilitation, which is a critical component of the treatment. Family Based Therapy is the most common treatment for individuals under 18 with eating disorders, as parents and guardians can play a crucial role in the recovery process. Our Bridging the Gap program requires the identified team, which includes the person with the eating disorder and their primary support person, to attend each session. Nutritional rehabilitation aims to restore a safe pace of weight, re-learn normal eating behaviors, and provide nutrition education for long-term recovery.
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Unlike traditional FBT (Family Based Treatment Programs) the purpose of Bridging the Gap is to help create an individualized program to meet the needs of your family. We understand the limitations and challenges that appear with complexities of this illness combined with the stress that comes with watching your child suffer.
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This work is not easy, our goal is to take some of the pressure off the family as a system to allow space for the healing to begin.
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Nutrition rehabilitation aims to achieve a safe pace of weight restoration, re-learn “normal” eating behaviours, and provide nutrition education on the maintenance of long-term flexible eating essential for recovery.
We work with individuals struggling with eating disorders or disordered eating behaviours that are interfering with their lives. For example, anorexia, bulimia nervosa, ARFID, binge eating disorder, OSFED and orthorexia.
Regardless of an individual’s weight, nutritional rehabilitation is a key element of eating disorder recovery. Your nutritionist will walk beside you and help you to establish a healthy relationship with food and your body. The hope is that this support will yield positive behaviour change and ultimately sufficient nutrient intake.
Accessing Care
It’s essential to combine nutritional counselling with psychotherapy to address the eating disorder symptoms directly while working on mental and emotional needs at the same time. here is good evidence that outpatient treatment programs can be very helpful in reducing or eliminating eating disorder symptoms. The added support weekly will allow you more of an opportunity to stay connected with friends and family and continue to get support from them along with the opportunity to practice new skills and strategies outside of appointments.
One of the key components of this program is consistency and accountability. By signing up, you’re required to attend all sessions and all 12 sessions will be booked, paid for and committed to before your first session.
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No Referral Required
There is no referral requirement and a diagnosis is not necessary to attend this program. We require that clients see their family physician or primary care provider and a therapist to ensure medical stability while working with us.
Individualized Care Plan
This program will provide clients with a comprehensive nutrition treatment plan tailored to their individual needs. This program will be available to those who are currently in therapy with a Psychotherapist either here at CCP or another clinic who is willing to collaborate with our nutrition and clinical lead.
Collaboration
Our therapists work with you to heal underlying challenges that may have contributed to the eating disorder while supporting you in finding coping skills to navigate your present life.
The cost of seeing a psychotherapist is completely separate from the cost of this program. ​
What to expect each week?
Our goal in designing this program is to help take some of the pressure off of parents to be in charge of all the decisions around food and aims to provide ongoing support through this stressful time. The loved one you’re supporting may have attended treatment, be waiting for treatment or be new to getting support for their eating disorder. Nutritional rehabilitation involves eating an appropriate amount of food to meet individual health, development and activity requirements, eating a variety of foods from all food groups and responding to the body’s hunger and satiety cues. Nutritional recovery also involves eating with flexibility, eating at social functions and for enjoyment and pleasure. The reason why someone struggles with an eating disorder is unique to them. With support from your therapist and our clinical director, our team will develop an individualized plan for each client to support them on their journey to recovery. Each week will cover different themes and structured learning. Our multi-disciplinary team develops an individualized plan for each client to support them on their journey to recovery.
Length of Program
This program is 12 weeks long.
5 - 1 hour long sessions
2 - 45 minute sessions
5 - 30 minutes sessions
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One of the key components of this program is consistency and accountability. By signing up, you’re required to attend all sessions and all 12 sessions will be booked, paid for and committed to before your first session. After the completion of this program, individuals will be illegible to attend our support group and our maintenance programs.