As the saying goes, “it takes a village”. If you are looking for more support to help yourself or your child treat ARFID, you likely already deeply resonate with this saying. Luckily, the research is growing and the awareness is improving and spreading in the eating disorder field to help diagnose ARFID with more ease and specific criteria. The next order of business is creating your “village”.
Curating a specialized multidisciplinary team is the most tried and true approach to eating disorder treatment. At the most basic level, a doctor (preferably a child and adolescent medicine specialist for the kiddos), a registered dietitian (heads up to ensure actual RD credentials, not just a nutritionist label) with a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist credential indicated by “CEDS”, and a therapist who specializes in eating or feeding disorders. For more complex individual cases, a speech language pathologist and feeding specialist are essential components. When the whole family and team work together to change meal time behaviors, success will follow.
What does an RD do to treat ARFID?
In one on one sessions or parent joined sessions, we will educate you on healthy eating and addressing food fears one step at a time, to empower you to face these fears and live a full life that YOU control, not ARFID. We will teach you and/or your kiddo to move up the ladder and include all food groups gradually, moving up the steps to eating, without meltdowns and shuts downs. Treatment includes developing pre and post mealtime coping strategies, meal time structures and psychoeducation, as well as hands-on regulation tools to help quiet the chaos and create opportunity for change. In addition, the dietitian’s role may look like exposure therapy sessions, creating family meal calendars, meal supports, family-based interventions, cooking sessions, CBT techniques amongst other modalities (i.e. SOS Approach to Feeding, DBT, RO-DBT), and play based sensory exposures and integration. Visit our previous blog on How to Use a Food Hierarchy in ARFID for a more in depth look on what some of your nutrition sessions may look like.
For children and adolescents, doctors will monitor labs, growth charts, and vitals ensure your kiddo is hitting their targets and getting back on their growth trajectory and prevent nutrient deficiencies. Additionally, doctors may prescribe medications to increase appetite or treat underlying/cooccurring anxiety. The therapist on the team will also troubleshoot this frequented component in sessions. OCD, ADHD, and sensory processing disorders and sensitivities are often co-ccuring in individuals with ARFID, therefore a therapist and dietitian will often use Cognitive Based Therapy (CBT) skills to help foster the safe connection between mind and body, the thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
Navigating ARFID treatment can be tough and overwhelming, but we are here for you. Reach out to the LCWN Team and we would be happy to discuss how we can support you and connect you with experts in the space.
