How to Choose the Right Eating Disorder Professional for You": Tips to Vet your Providers and Advocate for Yourself
Imagine you take your electric car into the auto shop for a repair. As you’re sitting in the waiting room, you overhear the mechanic ask another mechanic a basic question. Sure, the auto mechanic knows about cars, but he has never actually worked on an electric car before. He knows nothing about the differences between the two models or the specialized care required to treat an electric car. Would you trust this professional with your vehicle? I'm guessing the answer is no. Many doctors, therapists, and dietitians are well trained in their field but lack specific training in eating disorder treatment.
When you search for a therapist online, it is very common for several names to pop up stating that they treat anxiety, depression, mood disorders, trauma, eating disorders, couples, identity concerns, low self-esteem, families, self-harm, teens, etc. There seems to be little accountability for marketing eating disorder services as a mental health or medical professional. I find this to be very frightening because eating disorders are serious illnesses that affect every major organ system in the human body and can be fatal if not treated. I believe that a therapist could spend their entire career learning about this complex set of diseases and still have more to learn. Therefore, its my opinion that providers should focus their attention on treating eating disorders as a speciality if they choose to treat them at all.
Has anyone ever told you that you are your best advocate for your health? You have a right to ask your providers about their qualifications and knowledge base before you schedule an appointment. This guide will help you choose the right eating disorder professional for you and equip you with an arsenal of questions to ask your potential providers.
At a glance
This article will cover:
Characteristics of a trained eating disorder professional
Questions to ask yourself when choosing a new or potential provider
Questions to ask new or potential providers
Characteristics of a Trained Eating Disorder Professional
So what does training in eating disorders look like? The International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (IAEDP) has a credential meant to designate specific and rigorous training in the field. This certification takes years to complete but they offer core courses in eating disorder treatment that provide a solid foundation. A seasoned provider will have letters such as CEDS, CEDRD, CEDRN behind their name. This signifies that they have completed the required courses, tests, and supervision hours. I am currently obtaining my CEDS certification by accruing the necessary clinical hours and I expect this process to take several more years. I have completed the core courses.
Despite the rigor of the CEDS credential, there are many opportunities per year for professionals to attend symposiums, trainings, and workshops on best practices in the prevention and treatment of eating disorders. Consider whether your provider makes an effort to attend these events, as that reveals his or her commitment to understanding an ever evolving field.
You may also want to ask your provider whether they are Health at Every Size (HAES) aligned. HAES is a movement founded by Dr. Lindo Bacon to dismantle body discrimination based on size and weight. Dr. Bacon’s work proves that when we look at overall determinants of health, diet and exercise have been blown way out of proportion. In reality, access, inclusion, SES, race, and other factors do far more to influence one’s overall health. It turns out that folks in all body sizes can be “healthy.” Being HAES aligned is a good indicator that the provider strives for non-bias and inclusivity in their practice.
Questions to Consider Asking Yourself when Choosing a New or Potential Provider
In my opinion, the first question to ask yourself about your provider is: how preoccupied do they seem with weight loss and diets? Our culture simply obsesses about weight loss and health; in fact, terms like fitness, wellness, cleanse, diet, clean eating, etc. are often used to promote the $80 billion dollar per year (last time I checked) diet industry. It is financially savvy to promote services like bariatric surgery, yoga for weight loss, intermittent fasting, hypnosis for weight loss, or juice cleanses. Perhaps I’m an inadequate business person, but I like to tell my clients that every time we feel bad about our bodies, someone literally makes money.
Given the profitability of the weight-loss industry, it is a smart business move for a health professional to help people try to lose weight. But let’s take a moment to consider that eating disorders so often emerge from body dissatisfaction and a desire to be thin. In order to treat the eating disorder, we have to challenge society’s demonization of bodies and food, which means working with providers who can respect us and help us make informed choices.
That is a long way of saying, if you can tell right away that your medical professional wants you to lose weight at all cost, there may be a good chance they lack the training necessary to provide appropriate eating disorder care. Yes, health is important, and diet and exercise play a role in that. But if your provider is unable to see you as more than a number on the scale, they are unable to help you treat a complex illness that emerged from a lifetime of experiences only you know about. Just because a therapist or dietitian has a master’s degree or a medical provider has their MD, does not mean they have specialized training in the field of eating disorders.
It is the provider’s responsibility to make you feel included and comfortable in their space. Here are some considerations:
If you’re in a larger body, do the seats in the waiting room fit your body?
Are there fatphobic messages in the office by way of posters, pamphlets, etc.?
Is the physical office space accessible to folks with disabilities (ADA accessible)?
Does your provider look you in the eye and treat you with dignity and respect regardless of your size?
If you are in the office for an injury unrelated to weight, such as a broken foot, does your provider work weight loss into the conversation?
Does your provider suggest bariatric surgery at a frequency that makes you uncomfortable?
Do you feel like your provider really hears you when you speak?
Check out this fascinating Buzzfeed article on examples of doctors being fatphobic toward their patients.
Questions to ask a New Provider
Here are just a few questions you may want to ask a new medical professional, therapist, or dietitian before scheduling your first appointment:
Are you part of a treatment team? Do you have a relationship with a therapist/dietitian/medical professional you share clients with?
Do you offer a blind weigh option when you weigh patients in your office? (**note: it is perfectly acceptable not to want to know your weight when you visit the doctor)
Do you promote weight loss at all cost?
Are you Health at Every Size (HAES) aligned?
Are you knowledgeable about Intuitive Eating?
Are you seeking or do you have the CEDS credential? Have you completed the CEDS core courses?
Eating disorders are complicated, dangerous illnesses that still need to be widely researched. Therefore, you have a right to only seek services from trained professionals who specialize in this area. Remember, you are the best advocate for your own health but your providers should always be on your side.
I am an eating disorder and trauma counselor in Winston Salem, NC and would be happy to schedule an appointment with you, answer any questions, or help you find the right treatment option. Contact me at taylor@nourishedandknowncounseling.com.