Boarding Schools for Students with Eating Disorders

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Anorexia nervosa and bulimia are serious, life-threatening conditions. Anorexia is the severe restriction of calories; bulimia is purging after binge eating by vomiting, exercise and/or laxatives. Eating disorders mostly affect young women, although incidences among males are increasing. Athletes of both are prone to eating disorders.

Most patients suffer from psychological problems such low self-esteem, feelings that they are not in control of their lives, distorted body images, loneliness, anger and troubled interpersonal relationships. Others have mental illnesses such as bipolar or panic disorders, addictions, and/or depression. There is a strong genetic factor for eating disorders.

Eating disorders are very hard to treat because the majority of email data insist they do not have a problem. Treating children and adolescents is extremely important and has a better success rate than with older people. If untreated, bulimics and anorexics risk death or long-term damage to their bodies. In a 1995 study of 3006 people with eating disorders, 178 died within a five-year period.

PROS
A good residential treatment program takes the problem out of the hands of parents and places it with professionals where it belongs. It is often impossible for parents to force their child to eat or to stop over-exercising. Anorexics and bulimics need psychiatric care, intensive counseling and sometimes medication.

Anorexics and bulimics are notoriously evasive about their food intake and vomiting. Some centers have staff members who have recovered from eating disorders themselves and understand their patients' evasiveness.

Residential treatment is a good idea if the person is not gaining weight or otherwise making progress in an in-patient program.

A good program will feature healthy food, nutritional counseling, a variety of physical activities, and plenty of opportunities to explore new interests, as well as counseling and medical intervention. Anorexics and bulimics have to find positive and life affirming replacements for their preoccupation with weight and dieting.

CONS
Some research indicates that young people with eating disorders recover better if their families are involved in treatment. The residential center should include family therapy.

Insurance companies notoriously do not want to pay claims for eating disorders.