Editorial Review
Always harmful and potentially deadly, eating disorders can wreak havoc on families. Unfortunately, the same can often be said of their treatment: blaming parents for the illness, many eating disorder programs exclude parents and widen the rift in an already shattered family. This powerful and controversial book by top researchers James Lock and Daniel le Grange argues that parents are not the culprits but the key to their teen's recovery. Based on new research, Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder shows how parents can break the disorder's control over their child's mind and re-establish normal eating and family relations. The odds for full recovery drop precipitously if treatment is delayed. A radically important wake up call, this book urges parents to act now.
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Customer Reviews
Insight for Parents 
2007-01-22
Anorexia is a confusing psychiatric disease and this book provides an oversight of available therapies along with suggestions as to how best approach your child with it.
The book is somewhat difficult to "get into", as the first few chapters are rather theoretical but does give practical advice in the end.
With this book in hand, professional counseling is still recommended.
Very Helpful Book 
2006-07-16
I bought this book last summer (July 2005) just before my daughter was hospitilized with an (ED)eating disorder. I tried outpatient counseling, visiting a dietician,(begging too)and encouragement. I was depressed, frustrated, sad, and angry that my daughter was not improving despite my efforts to help her--and I realized she had an ED early. I
This book gave me insight and understanding to circumstances that may cause an ED and anecdotes that may relate to your child or family. It does not parent-bash, blaming failure on the parent. I shared this book with other parents with kids in ED treatment--and many bought it after looking at the content. I am grateful for the book and the treatment she received. The treatment was family-centered (mentioned in book) and involved the entire family. Treatment was difficult and necessary to save my child's life.
Parents, watch out for the internet: xanga, my space, House_of_sins.com--and other sites. There are communities of so- called "Ana and mia's",giving advice, and thinspirations to help your child continue their sickness.
This book is the best book on the market. It is not a manual for treatment alone, but an aide to understand and get help.
Scientifically proven to help an extremely tough situation 2006-07-10
This book can save your child's life. The information in this book is the very best available. Now is the time to get this book if your child has been wrestling with an eating disorder. The information is based on good science, and I believe that this information is the most up to date out there. ANYONE with an eating disorder could benefit from their caregiver reading this book. Don't put your kid on antideppresant drugs. Get this book instead and do what it says. You will be glad you did!
Must read for parents of ED Sufferers 2005-05-23
Excellent advice by leading researchers at Stanford and U of Chicago in eating disorders. The authors offer practical advice on helping your child recover from this strange disease.
The commonsense approach of "supported nutrition" also known as the "Maudsley method" has been clinically proven more effective than the tradition therapy approaches.
There is much "psycho-babble" about the causes of this disease which can lead to many deadend approaches to treatment.
You cannot afford to wait. Get your child treatment today and read this book. Another highly recommended is "Eating with your Anorexic" by Laura Collins which is more of a journal of her families odessy with ED treatment. Check out her site (...)
-Parent of a 12 year old anorexic
The tide is turning on our understanding of ED's 2005-02-11
To say that this book is revolutionary would not be an exaggeration. For decades, Anorexia and Bulimia in their many forms were viewed as the result of a combination of family dysfunction and social pressures. Though the scientific evidence to support this was pretty weak tea, that was and still is the dominant view of experts who treat this illness. (See Hilde Bruch's "The Golden Cage". It perfectly captures this view.)
In practice, this translated into therapies for anorexics in which families were told "not to make food an issue" and that their adolescent son or daughter was really expressing a need to "control" their environment. Any effort to actually feed the starving child was discouraged. Instead, parents were and are told that their child had to "choose" to get better first.
Lock and LeGrange are both research scientists and psychiatric practitioners who stumbled upon the research done at the Maudsley Hospital in London on eating disorders. The researchers at Maudsley did three novel things. First, they decided to be agnostic on the causes of anorexia. This freed them up to do a second thing; feed the starving child. In order to accomplish this, they had to do the third and final revolutionary thing which was to enlist the parents as part of the re-feeding process. In other words, the parents were now part of the cure, rather than part of the problem.
This stood current treatment for anorexics on its head. Amazingly, the researchers documented the most successful "cure" rate for any scientifically conducted study on anorexia treatment. "Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder" introduces parents to and guides them through the Maudsley approach.
This book was not written as a self-help manual, but it was written for parents and contains loads of practical advice garnered from years of working directly with sufferers and their parents. For example, they address common questions such as: should my child weigh himself; do I take her grocery shopping with me;establish a regular pattern of eating; what to do about binging and purging; how should one deal with friends; what to do about new clothes;and, naturally, how to help your child eat more.
What you won't find is endless but unprovable psycho-babble that makes you sick with guilt over why your child won't eat. L and L address the significant emotional issues attendant with the disease, but they don't blame the parents for them; they blame the illness. I cannot begin to tell you how refreshing that is.
This is a book that demands a place in the home of every parent trying to help their son or daughter caught in the misery of an ED. It offers not just hope, but solutions.
Excellent resource for parents and clinicians 2007-11-01
This book is an excellent resource for both parents and clinicians. I am a marriage and family therapist and often work with adolescents and their families. This book provides practical advice for parents and can be a helpful adjunct to family therapy with the eating disordered individual.
Gets to the point!! 2007-10-15
This book is such a relief!! Unlike other books that go on and on about what eating disorders are and their causes and types and so on, this book actually tells you how to act. It tells you exactly how to deal with your teenager and how to behave around them.
Very Informative Book 2007-10-11
Of the books I've read about eating disorders, this is probably the most informative one regarding explanations of what eating disorders are. This is an excellent resource for anyone with a young child or teenager with an eating disorder. I did find their advice about leaving your job to stay home with your child or going to their school to eat with them to be a bit impractical, but overall think the book is a valuable resource.
Successful approach to recovery 2007-08-10
I found this book extremely helpful. It is very easy to understand and provides key information to helping teenagers recover from eating disorders using a new approach that includes parents and other family members supporting strategies to recovery,
The most helpful read at a most difficult time 2007-03-12
This book gave my husband and I a much needed understanding of this complicated disease. Nothing else was as clear and helpful.
