Anorexia Treatment in Northern Virginia

Specialized Anorexia Treatment at EBT Collaborative

Anorexia Nervosa is a serious eating disorder that requires treatment from clinicians with specific training and experience. General therapy and nutritional coaching are not sufficient as standalone treatments. At EBT Collaborative, we offer the treatments with the strongest evidence base for anorexia, tailored to each client's age, presentation, and clinical needs.

Anorexia Treatments We Offer

Family-Based Treatment (FBT) for Adolescents

Family-Based Treatment, also known as the Maudsley approach, is one of the best-supported treatments for adolescent anorexia nervosa. A number of randomized controlled trials have examined FBT and found it to be an effective approach for adolescents with anorexia.

FBT places parents in an active role in managing their child's nutritional rehabilitation during the early stages of treatment. This is not about assigning blame. It reflects the clinical reality that an adolescent with anorexia cannot manage full nutritional recovery independently in the early stages of illness. Parents are the most powerful resource available.

Treatment unfolds across three structured phases:

• Phase 1: Parents take charge of nutritional rehabilitation with clinician guidance. The focus is on weight restoration and re-establishing regular eating.
• Phase 2: As the adolescent reaches a healthier weight and shows increased flexibility around food, control over eating is gradually returned to them.
• Phase 3: The focus shifts to healthy adolescent development, identity, and independence now that the eating disorder is no longer dominating daily life.

FBT is appropriate for adolescents under 18 with anorexia or bulimia nervosa who are medically stable enough for outpatient care.

CBT-E for Adults and Older Teens

Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-E) is an evidence-based treatment option for adults and older adolescents with eating disorders. Developed by Professor Christopher Fairburn at the University of Oxford, CBT-E is the most extensively studied psychological treatment for eating disorders in adults.

CBT-E is individualized and structured. It addresses the cognitive and behavioral patterns that maintain the eating disorder, including overvaluation of weight and shape, dietary restraint and rigid food rules, avoidance behaviors, and the cognitive effects of undernutrition.

For anorexia, CBT-E typically runs for approximately 40 sessions over 40 weeks, with sessions initially twice weekly during the weight restoration phase before transitioning to once weekly.

DBT for Anorexia With Emotion Dysregulation

For clients where intense emotion dysregulation is a primary driver of restrictive eating, Dialectical Behavior Therapy is integrated into eating disorder treatment. DBT builds the distress tolerance and emotion regulation skills that make sustained recovery possible.

DBT is often coordinated with FBT or CBT-E rather than replacing them. The goal is to address the emotion dysregulation that makes engagement with eating disorder-specific treatment difficult, not to use DBT as a standalone eating disorder treatment.

Nutrition Counseling

Nutrition counseling is available as part of integrated anorexia care. For clients who benefit from dedicated nutritional support alongside psychological treatment, our team can coordinate care across providers.

Who We Treat

We provide anorexia treatment for:

Individualized Intensive Programming for Anorexia

For medically stable clients who are appropriate for outpatient care but need greater therapeutic frequency or support, our individualized intensive programs provide multiple sessions per week with coordinated care. This is not a residential, partial hospitalization, or medically monitored program. It is an outpatient service for clients who need more than once-weekly therapy while remaining in their daily lives.

What to Expect at Your First Appointment

Your first appointment is a comprehensive clinical assessment. Your clinician will gather a full history of the eating disorder, assess current medical risk, understand any co-occurring conditions, and discuss what treatment approach is the best fit for your situation.

You will leave the first appointment with a clear understanding of what the recommended treatment involves, what the expected timeline looks like, and what is being asked of you and your family.

Our Fairfax, Virginia Office

Learn more about our Fairfax location or visit our team page.

Insurance and Fees

Visit our billing page for information on accepted insurance and fees.

Frequently Asked Questions