Inpatient Behavioral Family Treatment for Psychiatrically Hospitalized Youth with Eating Disorders

Although adolescents with eating disorders commonly struggle with psychiatric comorbidities and suicidal behaviors, such behaviors are exclusion criteria for most eating disorders programs. Moreover, the majority of psychiatric inpatient hospital programs are not equipped to help adolescents with refeeding and weight gain. Without eating disorders treatment embedded into inpatient psychiatric programs, eating disorder symptoms and psychiatric sequalae often worsen. This chapter describes Inpatient Behavioral Family Treatment (IBFT), a treatment protocol designed for inpatient settings that uses behavioral strategies to reduce caregiver burnout among nursing staff members and parents to encourage patient success with meals and weight restoration.