NEDA TOOLKIT for Parents
Find eating disorder treatment
Online databases and telephone referral lines are available to help families find a suitable treatment setting.
Excellent resources are listed below
Treatment Center Databases to Search
Something Fishy
http://www.something-fishy.org/treatmentfinder/ NEDA
www.nationaleatingdisorders.org Treatment center listings can be accessed from the
NEDA homepage. This database contains listings from
professionals who treat eating disorders. Simply open
the treatment referral tab and agree to the disclaimer.
Find an eating disorders treatment provider who will
serve your state, a nationwide list of
inpatient/residential treatment facilities, search for
free support groups in your area or locate a national
Eating Disorders Research Study.
Bulimia Guide
http://www.bulimiaguide.org/ This database focuses on U.S. centers that treat all
types of eating disorders (not just bulimia) and offer
various levels of care and many types of treatment
from standard to alternative. On this website, you can
browse center listings by state, type of treatment
offered, whether or not they accept insurance, or other
characteristics by selecting from the drop-down lists.
Some states have no eating disorder treatment
centers, and that’s why no listings come up for some
states. This information was compiled from detailed
questionnaires sent to every center to gather
information about its treatment philosophies,
approaches, staffing, and the clinical and support
services it offers. The amount of information centers
provided varies widely among centers. This database
does not contain listings for individual outpatient
therapists who claim to treat eating disorders.
The database contains listings from individual
therapists, dieticians, treatment centers, and other
professionals worldwide who treat eating disorders.
Open the “treatment finder” tab on the left, and search
by category (type of treatment), country, state, area
code, name, services, description, or zip code.
What to Consider When Searching for a
Treatment Center
Several considerations enter into finding a suitable
treatment setting. Options may be limited by factors
such as insurance coverage, location, or ability to pay
for treatment in the absence of insurance. When
contacting treatment centers, be sure to talk with
them to find out their complete admission criteria and
whether your loved one meets their criteria for
treatment. That way, you can better ensure that your
loved one will meet their criteria before traveling.
Arriving at a center only to find out, after they take
sufficiently detailed patient intake information, that
they won’t admit your loved one is a situation you’ll
want to prevent. Primary care physicians (i.e., family
doctor, gynecologist, pediatrician, internal medicine
doctor) may be able to assist in referring patients to
appropriate treatment facilities, because they may
have experience with various centers or outpatient
therapists. Telephone Referral and Information
Helplines NEDA Helpline 800.931.2237
Something Fishy 866.690.7239
Hope Line Network 800.273.TALK
National Suicide Hotline 800.784.2433
National Call Center for At-Risk Youth 800.USA.KIDS
Page | 64