The Eating Disorders Outpatient Clinic

What is the Eating Disorders Outpatient Clinic?

If a child or teen is thought to be suffering from an eating disorder, patients can get a referral from a primary care provider for an evaluation by experts in our Eating Disorders Program. The evaluation includes an adolescent medicine specialist and a therapist from the Eating Disorders Program team.

Why choose Children's Colorado?

We have more than 35 years of experience in helping kids with eating disorders. Our staff are all specialized in pediatric medical and psychiatric care and emphasize the role of the family in treatment and recovery. We serve kids and families from across the United States with our unique approach to parent-supported nutrition and recovery.

What to expect from the outpatient program

As part of the evaluation, in addition to evaluating the child medically and emotionally, we sit down with the child’s parents to gather observations and understand the family’s concern. The appointment lasts about 2 to 3 hours, and we provide recommendations and feedback to the family and patient following the evaluation.

The eating disorder evaluation includes:

• A medical assessment: The patient will be thoroughly evaluated by our adolescent medicine specialist. This involves a review of the history of the illness and an evaluation of any medical symptoms. The doctor reviews symptoms that might be related to weight and appetite fluctuations, and screens for other medical conditions that could be contributing to the clinical presentation.
• Assessment of the patient and family: The parents and patient also meet individually with a therapist to talk about symptoms related to changes in eating and/or activity patterns, life functioning, stresses and current concerns. These individual assessments also include screening for conditions that are often associated with changes in eating patterns such as depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder.
• Treatment recommendations: Following the evaluation, the family and patient meet with the adolescent medicine doctor and therapist to discuss diagnoses, treatment alternatives and the appropriate course of care.

Additional services include medical care, individual and family therapy, nutrition therapy and outpatient group therapy.