If Your Adolescent Has an Eating Disorder: An Essential Resource for Parents (ADOLESCENT MENTAL HEALTH INITIATIVE)

If Your Adolescent Has an Eating Disorder is an authoritative guide to understanding and helping a teenager with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, or other eating disorders. It is designed for parents of teens who have recently been diagnosed with an eating disorder, or who are at risk of developing one, and for other adults, such as teachers and guidance counselors, who are regularly in contact with at-risk adolescents. The book combines the latest science--including the newest treatments and most up-to-date research findings on eating disorders--with the practical wisdom of parents who have been in the trenches raising teens with eating disorders.

Written in a clear and approachable style, Drs. B. Timothy Walsh and Deborah R. Glasofer explain exactly what eating disorders are and describe their characteristics, as well as signs and symptoms. They outline the right way to go about getting help if you suspect your child may have a problem, about when and where to get treatment, and about how to navigate the healthcare system. There is also advice on how to handle everyday life--both at home and at school--once your child is diagnosed, and on how to communicate with your teen and her or his siblings about issues related to the eating disorder. Complete with red flags to look out for, warnings on the dangers of doing nothing, and a comprehensive list of additional resources, this book will help parents and other adults face and deal effectively with adolescent eating disorders before they become life-threatening.

B. Timothy Walsh, MD graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Medical School, and has been on the faculty of the Department of Psychiatry of Columbia's Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons for over four decades. The primary focus of his research is eating disorders. Over the course of his career, he has published more than two hundred papers and received numerous grant awards from the National Institutes of Health. He has served as President of both of the major international eating disorders associations, and chaired the Eating Disorders Work Group for both DSM-IV and DSM-5. He has received awards from the American Psychiatric Association, the Academy for Eating Disorders, the National Eating Disorders Association, and the Association for Behavior and Cognitive Therapies.

Deborah R. Glasofer, PhD is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medical Psychology (in Psychiatry) at the Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, Columbia University and clinical psychologist at the Columbia Center for Eating Disorders at the New York State Psychiatric Institute. She is involved in research on eating disorders, and provides instruction and supervision for psychiatry residents, post-doctoral fellows, and other trainees in cognitive behavioral therapy for mood, anxiety, and eating disorders. She served as an editor for the Handbook of Assessment and Treatment of Eating Disorders, co-authored What Everyone Needs to Know: Eating Disorders, has written for Scientific American Mind, Psychology Today, The Huffington Post, Verywell, and The Feed, and can be followed on Twitter at @drglasofer.