Adolescent Eating Disorders
Eating Disorder Care at Golisano Children's Hospital
Eating disorders can affect your child mentally, physically and socially. At Golisano Children’s Hospital at University of Vermont Health, we want to help kids and teens improve health and quality of life. Our Eating Disorder Assessment Clinic offers evaluation and treatment recommendations for adolescents ages 11 to 17.
Our board-certified adolescent medicine physician and social worker are among the only providers in the region to offer this assessment service.
Our eating disorder care team is also actively involved in the Vermont Department of Mental Health Eating Disorders Workgroup.
Why Choose Golisano Children's Hospital?
We offer:
- Unique expertise: Our board-certified adolescent medicine physician is among the only medical providers with eating disorder expertise in the region. She consults with other medical providers, registered dietitians and mental health providers caring for young people with disordered eating.
- Resources: We are connected to a large network of registered dietitians and mental health providers providing eating disorder care in person and online. Our social worker maintains an extensive database of programs for higher levels of outpatient or residential care.
- Education emphasis: As part of a health system anchored by an academic medical center, our physicians are active educators who train the next generation of experts. Our specialists educate and train others on eating disorder prevention, identification and treatment.
Conditions We Treat
Our team evaluates and recommends levels of treatment for eating disorders in children and adolescents. Common eating disorders include:
- Anorexia nervosa: This potentially life-threatening condition causes people to take extreme measures to control their weight and shape. Symptoms include an intense fear of weight gain and an unrealistic view of body size and shape.
- Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder: Children or teens may severely limit or avoid certain foods. This can lead to lack of nutrition and poor growth.
- Binge-eating disorder: This disorder involves binges, or periods of eating large quantities of food in a short amount of time. Afterward, people often feel shame, disgust or guilt.
- Bulimia nervosa: This serious, sometimes life-threatening condition is characterized by binges followed by purges to get rid of the food. Purges may involve vomiting, using laxatives, not eating or overexercising.
What to Expect
Your child’s doctor may refer you to the Eating Disorder Assessment Clinic, or you may reach out yourself. After you contact our team:
- Our social worker will call you to gather basic information about your child. We’ll ask you to complete a screening form and a release of information. This document allows us to speak with your child’s existing providers, including therapists, registered dietitians or primary care providers, about their care.
- You and your child will visit our clinic for an intake appointment with our adolescent medicine physician. We will gather information about your child’s medical history, nutrition, mental health and behaviors related to food. We will also conduct a physical exam.
- You and your child will participate in an in-depth mental health assessment with our child psychiatrist.
- One week later, you and your child will return for a visit. Our team will offer their working diagnosis and recommend the level of care suitable for your child. We also connect you with resources to seek that care, as appropriate.
Eating Disorder Treatments
Many of our patients meet criteria to continue outpatient treatment with their primary care provider, a therapist and a registered dietitian here in Vermont. Some children or teens need more advanced care, which may include in-person or virtual treatment in Vermont or out of state:
IOPs are a transitional level of care between inpatient and outpatient services. Programming usually includes group and individual therapy for a few hours a day, several days a week, along with nutrition counseling or other therapies.
Your child receives structured outpatient care for several hours a day, five days a week. Treatment is more intensive than an IOP but doesn’t include overnight stays in a treatment facility or hospital.
Adolescents stay in a treatment center where they receive 24-hour care.
Adolescents receive 24-hour care in a medical care setting where they receive more intensive medical monitoring or feeding.
Medical stabilization is for children or teens who are severely ill and at risk of life-threatening complications. The purpose is to stabilize your child’s vital signs and other crucial health markers before they transition to a less intensive level of care.
The Eating Disorder Assessment Clinic does not currently offer ongoing eating disorder treatment. After assessments, our team remains available for phone consultations.
Locations Near You
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1 South Prospect Street
Level 3
Burlington, VT 05401-5505