Eating disorder treatment options

Getting help for your eating disorder is the first step to recovery. Once you’ve made the initial reach for support, whether that be with your GP or a private eating disorder service like Priory, you will need to undergo an assessment to determine the severity of your symptoms. From there, you and your support team will decide on what treatment plan would suit you best.

Treatment plans include:

• Inpatient eating disorder treatment – where you will be a resident at a hospital that provides round the clock eating disorder support
• Day care treatment options – where you visit a Priory location each day to undergo treatment but are able to go home each evening
• Outpatient eating disorder treatment - weekly hour-long appointments at one of our hospitals or wellbeing centres, which you can fit around your other commitments. These sessions can also be held via video if it suits you better

Our eating disorder treatment centres

We have a nationwide network of hospitals and wellbeing centres that provide our eating disorder treatment programmes. Depending on your own symptoms and needs, you may be directed to different Priory locations that can help you overcome the challenges you’re experiencing.

To find an eating disorder treatment centre near you, use our location finder. You also can view some of our locations below:

Introducing Life Works

If you require inpatient eating disorder treatment, support is available at Life Works, our specialist eating disorder clinic in Surrey. At Life Works, we offer a world-class residential service, complete with an expert team of dietitians, therapists, and mental health professionals. Life Works is made to feel like a home away from home, providing a welcoming atmosphere and a safe space to start your recovery journey.

Outpatient and day care at many Priory locations

If you do not require inpatient treatment and need more flexibility with your time, you can seek treatment at many of our hospitals and wellbeing centres. 

Our hospitals and wellbeing centres are location all around the UK, making access to treatment possible. For outpatient services, we also provide an online therapy service, connecting you with expert therapists who can provide therapy sessions wherever suits you best

How are eating disorders treated?

Every person struggling with an eating disorder will have their own experiences with food, and because of this, we understand that eating disorder treatment plans need to be tailored to the individual. This often means someone receiving anorexia treatment will have a different treatment plan to someone receiving treatment for bulimia. 

Typically, our eating disorder treatment programme consists of intense therapy, wellness activities, and can include different medications depending on what type of eating disorder is being treated and the severity of the eating disorder.

The therapy that we provide as part of an eating disorder treatment programme can be delivered in a number of different formats, for both yourself alone and with others, including:

• 1:1 therapy
• Group therapy
• Family therapy
• Online therapy

Our specialists have years of experience delivering eating disorder treatment programmes, in there different therapy formats. Each expert team at Priory is made up of:

• Psychiatrists
• Psychologists
• Therapists
• Nurses
• Dietitians
• Other mental health and eating disorder professionals

We specialise in a range of different therapy types, which are all approved by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE):

• Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults (MANTRA)
• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
• Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)
• Dietetic advice and support
• Supported meals
• Occupational therapy including food exposure interventions
• Body image workshops
• Parent/carer support sessions

We can also monitor your physical condition while you’re with us and offer supported feeding, if needed, on our residential treatment programmes.

Getting eating disorder help

We are able to treat a range of eating disorders at Priory, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder (BED). We can also treat “other specified feeding or eating disorders” (OSFED), which are also known as “eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS)” or “atypical eating disorders”.

Here at Priory, we treat the following eating disorders:

• Anorexia nervosa
• Bulimia nervosa
• Binge eating disorder
• Other specified feeding or eating disorders (OSFED)