How to Find Good Virtual Treatment for an Eating Disorder

Initially, virtual treatment was part of the necessary changes to continue any therapy during the worst parts of the pandemic. Now virtual work has become the norm.

Prior to the pandemic, I had written many posts about one of the biggest issues in treating eating disorders: access to care. There weren’t enough clinicians or programs to go around even in the most populous parts of the country, let alone in more rural areas.

Virtual work opened up opportunities for people to seek care much more widely, a needed change. As new virtual opportunities for care expand, the possibility that everyone can get help might be realized.

Expansion of care exposed another issue in eating disorder treatment, namely the quality of care. There is no standard training, certificate or degree for treating people with eating disorders. While virtual access improves, more clinicians are necessary, and the likelihood of inexperienced treatment providers in unsupervised settings increases dramatically.

Online treatment varies from therapy to all day programs to weekly coaching programs. The expense of treatment is high, and the ability to assess its efficacy very limited. In addition, programs that include meal support have an even higher bar to climb because tracking whether someone finishes a meal is even harder on a video call.

Grappling with the virtual landscape demands an even higher level of vetting by the patient to be successful. These are some ideas to consider and ask directly when making decisions about care.

First, ask providers and programs about their credentials. Any virtual treatment needs to start with well trained professionals with successful clinical practices who have the expertise to navigate helping people recover online.

Second, have a conversation about how any treatment works virtually and how the program adapts to online work. This modality can be very successful but not as a virtual version of the same treatment. The explanation of the differences will reveal how thoughtful the provider is.

Third, it’s essential that any treatment uses criteria to assess progress and has a plan at the ready for virtual work to be successful. Many providers and programs will say that if their treatment doesn’t work, they’ll recommend a “higher level of care,” a euphemism that the clinician does not know what else to do. Asking for more specific guidelines will be revealing of the person’s overall thoughts about treatment.

Virtual care fully enacted during the pandemic is here to stay. The pros of this work outweighs the cons. Seeking the best virtual care tasks patients to ask the right questions to ensure the treatment is effective.