Bay Area Eating Disorder Program

Our Bay Area Eating Disorder Program consists of 8 weeks of:

• Individual Therapy
• Family Therapy
• Nutrition Therapy​
• Medical Support
• DBT Group Therapy

Individual therapy

Chose from one of our highly qualified therapists with specialties designed to meet the needs of their patients. CTFT offers several different therapy modalities in order to provide individualized treatment.

• EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing)
• CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
• DBT (Dialectic Behavior Therapy)
• ERP (Exposure Response Prevention Therapy)
• FBT (Family Based Therapy)
• Family systems

Family Therapy

At CTFT we believe that parent involvement in therapy is crucial to a successful outcome. We will work with parents and families to restore balance so families can thrive. Family therapy can range from everyone in the family attending to parent/child, siblings or to just parents attending depending on the needs of the family. Sibling support can be vital if one child has high needs that take up the attention in the family.

We offer both family systems family therapy and FBT, (family-based therapy).

Family Based Therapy:

FBT is a type of family therapy, where the patient and the family visit the therapist together. FBT differs from most family therapy approaches for eating disorders:

• FBT is “agnostic” about the cause of eating disorders, and does not try to find underlying issues or causes
• Parents are asked to take over decisions about food for the first part of treatment
• Siblings are included
• Therapists coach parents in finding their own solutions to challenges during treatment
• Food is medicine
• There is a “family meal” session early in treatment where patients are asked to resist, and parents are coached in how to overcome resistance

FBT was originally designed for treating anorexia nervosa, is also manualized for bulimia nervosa. Most of the research for FBT has been done with teens and young adults. We also offer a modified version of FBT for families who qualify.

Nutrition Therapy

Nutrition therapy is a vital part of eating disorder recovery. Without consistent and adequate nutrition, both the brain and body cannot function optimally—and true recovery remains out of reach. That’s where the dedicated team of registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) from Bay Area Nutrition (BAN) comes in.

Working closely with teens and their families, our RDNs explore the complex dynamics of how, what, when, and why individuals eat—or don’t eat. These are not typical dietitians. The BAN RDNs bring specialized training, advanced certifications, and years of experience in treating eating disorders.

Bay Area Nutrition’s RDNs dive into the nuances of eating patterns, restriction, and compensatory behaviors. They help clients and families develop sustainable eating plans, break down barriers to adequate nutrition, and rebuild healthy relationships with food and the body. They collaborate seamlessly with the broader treatment team at BAED to ensure integrated care.

The BAN RDNs are trained in evidence-based approaches such as Family-Based Treatment (FBT), Intuitive Eating, Exposure Response Prevention (ERP) and other modalities tailored to support recovery at every stage.

Psychiatry (as needed)

A psychiatrist referral may be needed in eating disorder treatment to provide specialized assessment and management of co-occurring mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, OCD, or trauma-related disorders, which commonly occur alongside eating disorders. Our adolescent Psychiatrist, Dr. Amit Desai can evaluate the impact of starvation or purging on mood and cognition, differentiate between psychiatric symptoms and those secondary to malnutrition, and assess risk factors such as suicidality or self-harm. He can also prescribe and monitor psychiatric medications that may support treatment, particularly when symptoms significantly interfere with nutritional rehabilitation or therapy.

Medical Monitoring During Eating Disorder Treatment

When your teen or young adult is in eating disorder treatment, regular medical check-ups are important to keep them safe and to catch any health problems early.

Weight Checks
Your teen or young adult’s weight will be checked regularly by their medical provider.

Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Checks (Orthostatic)
The medical provider will check your teen or adolescent’s blood pressure and heart rate while lying down and then standing up. This helps us see if they are dehydrated or if their heart is under stress.

Lab Work
Blood and urine tests help us check for:

• Dehydration and electrolyte imbalances (such as low potassium or phosphorus)
• How the kidneys and liver are working
• Anemia or low white blood cell counts
• Any heart concerns if needed

Why This Matters
Eating disorders can affect the body in many ways, even if your teen or adolescent “looks fine.” Regular medical monitoring helps us catch problems early and keep your child safe while they work on recovery.  It also helps the dietitian navigate nutrition recommendations. 

Group Therapy

The power of group therapy is incredible. It helps to break down isolation, shame, guilt, loneliness and fosters good social skills and peer support.  CTFT offers a DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) group that will help your teen learn skills to manage emotions while they are in treatment.  This group is open to all clients in our practice and is focused on emotional regulation skills.

DBT is renowned for its effectiveness in equipping individuals with practical skills to manage emotional distress, enhance interpersonal effectiveness, and navigate through life’s challenges with a renewed sense of control and purpose. Our program will immerse you in a supportive group setting where you will explore and practice DBT skills, such as mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness, all tailored to help you reshape your self-talk and thought patterns.

How We Evaluate Progress in The Bay Area Eating Disorder Program

Tracking progress helps us ensure your teen is getting the support they need. At the start of treatment, we will complete a baseline assessment using a tool called the EAT-26 to understand your teen’s thoughts and behaviors around eating.

We provide progress updates to families every 4 weeks, so you know how treatment is going. At the 4-week mark, we review your teen’s progress to see if treatment goals are being met and to adjust the plan if needed. At 8 weeks, we will complete another progress review and discuss next steps together, including recommendations for ongoing care after the program if needed.

We use several tools and check-ins throughout treatment to make sure the care we provide is both meaningful and measurable, supporting your teen’s recovery in a clear and structured way.

Routine Team Care Collaboration

One thing that sets the BAED program apart from other programs is our commitment to good communication. Communication is a vital aspect of a successful response to treatment. One of the problems we often run into is that the providers do not communicate important information affecting treatment. Our program providers are committed to sharing communication after every session to ensure that all providers are on the same page.  All recommendations for treatment are made at a team level including the registered dietitian, the individual therapist, the family therapist, the group therapist, the medical care provider, and psychiatrist (if needed).

Our Partnership

CTFT has partnered with Bay Area Nutrition, LLC in order to provide a holistic approach to mental health for families in the city of Campbell and surrounding areas.

Visit Bay Area Nutrition Website