Helping Residents With Eating Disorders

Cirque Lodge is a leading dual diagnosis treatment center in Sundance Utah. We are dedicated to helping those with co-occurring disorders to recieve effective treatment for both their addiction problems. Residents in a drug rehab center for alcohol and chemical dependency who also suffer from eating disorders present a unique challenge for counselors. Eating disorders, particularly less severe cases, can be virtually undetectable. In many substance abuse treatment and drug treatment centers, hundreds of patients with undiagnosed eating disorders participate in normal treatment routines without their counselors and/or families realizing there are added reasons for concern. Family programs are also utilized to address codependence.

Even in more severe cases, parents never suspect their loved ones have a problem at all. Often they appear to be model citizens: helpful, driven, hardworking and anxious to please. When diagnostic terms like "anorexic" or "bulimic" are used to describe the person in question, some therapists and family members can harbor doubts. It can be difficult to understand how someone who appears so competent could be suffering from such a debilitating emotional disorder in addition to any chemical addiction that may co-exist.


Many people lack the proper context for understanding eating disorders. To help someone struggling with both chemical addiction and disordered eating, we at the Cirque Lodge drug rehab program have developed programs that address the needs of both issues. To be successful at treating those with a dual diagnosis we enlist the following treatment strategies:

• Develop a basic history about patients with eating disorders, and use eating disorder assessment as part of initial treatment team planning
• Help the resident and their families achieve a realistic awareness of eating disorders and dismiss erroneous notions of the disorders
• Teach and share eating disorder symptoms in order to assist in identifying early warning signs of eating disorders
• Develop strategies for supporting residents with eating disorders (and their families) such as offering a Supportive Eating Table that is available daily within the facility

Eating disorders are complicated and serious. Families play an important role in the healing process and recovery. As caring and informed counselors, we at Cirque Lodge can also play a preventive role by leading lectures and experiential exercises that explore parallel issues such as nutrition, body image and self-esteem topics. Counselors strive to create an environment that is particularly sensitive to the needs of those residents struggling with eating disorders.

What should I do if a loved one might have an eating disorder?

• Early detection and intervention is the key to a successful recovery!
• Early intervention is made possible by becoming aware of the common characteristics and behaviors of eating disorders.
• Here are some of the common warning signs:

How Cirque Lodge Can Help

• We offer a program that enables residents to express problems and issues with eating.
• We seek to build the self-esteem, self-assertion and communication skills of all our residents.
• We can help our residents learn to resist media-pressure that may contribute to unhealthy habits and attitudes.
• We teach how and why our culture promotes thinness not only in lectures but through creative therapy as well.
• We teach our residents about the dangers of dieting and the healthy role of fat in their bodies.
• We educate our residents with information about various body shapes, body weights and the role genetics plays in our body's natural development.
• We strive to follow a food guide to healthy eating and allow residents plenty of time to eat with support at the S.E.T. (supportive eating table)
• We make the prevention of eating disorders a major goal in our treatment of residents at Cirque Lodge.

Additional Facts About Eating Disorders

• Many men and women with eating disorders appear NOT to be underweight.
• Anorexia nervosa has been reported to occur as early as the age of four.
• Females comprise 73% of all reported children with anorexia nervosa.
• More than 10 million Americans suffer from eating disorders.
• A female with anorexia is 12 times more likely to die prematurely than someone without an eating disorder.
• Approximately 15% of young women have attitudes and behavior that coincide with behavior symptomatic of eating disorders.
• Young girls who participate in competitive sports (where body size is important) are at three times more risk for developing an eating disorder.

How To Help Your Loved One

• Remain Calm.
• Identify available resources (a counselor, pediatrician, dietician, nurse, etc.).
• Consult with a counselor before approaching or confronting your loved one.
• Be prepared. Choose a safe, inviting place to talk when intervening.
• Remember their eating disorder is a way of trying to cope with underlying problems. There is more than likely a root issue that is not simply "I want to be thin".
• It is common for a person with an eating disorder to become upset when someone tries to help them. They often deny any problem and become furious. Stay CALM.
• Express your love, concern, and worry. Make it clear that you are not angry.
• Give them time to think about your concerns and fears.
• Offer specific observations such as a noticeable mood change - "you seem more angry lately - how can I help?"
• Use "I" statements - do not make accusations or place blame.
• Do not get into a power struggle. You may have to approach the person in question several times.
• Do not be punitive or judgmental - you cannot fix them by punishing them.
• Do not comment on their appearance, either positively or negatively.
• Do not imply that their problems are solely about food, weight and/or body size.
• Do not argue or engage in a battle of wills.
• Do not attempt to take, receive or place any blame whatsoever.

The Cirque Lodge drug treatment center is always here to help with co-occuring disorders. Please feel free to call us anytime at 1-877-99-REHAB or for more information on Substance Abuse Treatment, please visit our main Dual Diagnosis page.