Eating Disorder Treatment in Brookline & the Boston Area
Thoughtful, Evidence-Based Care for Eating Disorders.
Eating disorders can have profound effects on physical health, emotional well-being, and daily life. Whether you’re struggling with your own relationship with food and eating or are concerned about changes you’ve noticed in your child, finding the right support is an important step toward recovery. At Integrative Psychological Services (IPS), we provide specialized, evidence-based treatment for adolescents, adults, and families, combining established treatment approaches with individualized, compassionate care.
Eating Disorders & Related Concerns We Treat
Eating disorders affect people of all ages, genders, body sizes, and backgrounds. They do not have a single recognizable appearance, and someone’s weight or physical appearance alone cannot tell us whether they are struggling with an eating disorder or how medically serious their condition may be.
At IPS, we offer assessment and outpatient treatment for:
Anorexia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa
Binge Eating Disorder
Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED), including Atypical Anorexia
We also work with people who are dealing with:
- Disordered eating that doesn’t fit neatly into a diagnosis
- Ongoing distress or unhappiness about their body
- Restrictive eating and strict food rules
- Anxiety around food and meals
- Binge eating, or trying to “make up for” eating afterward
- Exercise that feels compulsive or impossible to skip
- Perfectionism and harsh self-criticism about food, weight, or appearance
You don’t need a diagnosis to reach out. Plenty of people come to us simply because something about food, exercise, or their body has started to feel hard. That’s reason enough to have a conversation.
How We Treat Eating Disorders
We draw on specialized training in evidence-based treatments for eating disorders, tailoring their approach to each client’s age, diagnosis, and individual needs. While treatment approaches vary in their structure and focus, our work emphasizes both addressing eating disorder symptoms and understanding the broader psychological and relational factors that may influence recovery.
Family-Based Treatment (FBT)
Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is a structured, research-backed approach with particularly strong indication for adolescents with anorexia nervosa. FBT actively involves parents and caregivers in supporting their child's nutritional rehabilitation and recovery, while emphasizing that families are not to blame for the development of an eating disorder. Instead, caregivers are recognized as important resources in helping their child recover.
What it involves:
- Empowering and supporting parents and caregivers to take an active role in restoring adequate nutrition
- Identifying and interrupting eating disorder behaviors that interfere with recovery
- Helping families distinguish their child from the eating disorder while reducing blame and conflict
- Gradually returning age-appropriate independence around eating as recovery progresses
- Supporting adolescents and families in returning to healthy developmental activities and relationships
Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-E)
Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT-E) is a structured, evidence-based treatment designed to address the thoughts and behaviors that maintain eating disorders. This individualized approach can be adapted to different eating disorder presentations, including restrictive eating, binge eating, and purging. Treatment is active and collaborative, helping clients identify and change patterns that perpetuate eating disorder symptoms while developing healthier, more sustainable relationships with food, eating, and body image.
What it involves:
- Developing a personalized understanding of the patterns maintaining your eating disorder
- Using food and mood monitoring to recognize connections between eating behaviors, thoughts, and emotions
- Establishing a regular eating schedule and practicing behavioral changes between sessions
- Gradually confronting feared foods, challenging dietary rules, and reducing avoidance behaviors
- Using structured exercises to address body image concerns and beliefs about weight, shape, and self-worth
- Creating a personalized plan to maintain progress and navigate challenges after treatment
Body Image Inside Out
Developed by Deb Schachter, LICSW and Whitney Otto, MA, PCC, Body Image Inside Out is an integrative therapeutic approach that addresses body image distress through a combination of cognitive, emotional, and relational work. Drawing from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Internal Family Systems (IFS), mindfulness, and attachment-based perspectives, this approach helps individuals better understand their relationship with their bodies and develop more flexible, compassionate ways of relating to themselves.
What it involves:
- Identifying and exploring the different thoughts, emotions, and internal conflicts that shape body image
- Using guided exercises to recognize and respond differently to critical thoughts about appearance
- Exploring how relationships, attachment experiences, and past experiences influence body image
- Practicing mindfulness and self-compassion exercises to reduce judgment and increase body awareness
- Developing practical strategies to navigate body image distress in everyday situations, including social interactions, clothing, and mirrors
Our Eating Disorder Treatment Philosophy
At Integrative Psychological Services, we believe effective eating disorder treatment requires both clinical expertise and a thoughtful understanding of the individual. Our approach is grounded in evidence-based interventions that address eating disorder symptoms and support physical recovery, while remaining attentive to the psychological, emotional, and relational experiences that may influence treatment.
As a boutique outpatient practice, we emphasize individualized care, close therapeutic relationships, and collaboration with families and other healthcare professionals when appropriate. We recognize that each person’s experience with an eating disorder is unique, and we tailor treatment to their developmental stage, clinical presentation, and broader needs without losing sight of the structured interventions essential to recovery.
Evidence-Based, Individualized Care
We use established treatment approaches while remaining attentive to each client’s unique circumstances, developmental needs, and goals for recovery.
Compassionate, Direct Support
We approach treatment with empathy and without judgment, while remaining clear about the behavioral, nutritional, and medical priorities essential to recovery.
Beyond Eating Disorder Symptoms
We recognize that eating disorders can coexist with challenges related to anxiety, perfectionism, self-esteem, trauma, identity, and relationships. Our approach makes room to address these concerns alongside eating disorder recovery.
A Collaborative Relationship
We believe a strong therapeutic relationship is central to effective treatment. Our clinicians are warm and responsive, providing both support and direction throughout the recovery process.
Treatment for Adolescents, Adults & Families
Eating disorder treatment looks different across developmental stages. We consider each client’s age, diagnosis, medical needs, and individual circumstances when determining the most appropriate treatment approach and level of family involvement.
Adolescents
Treatment for adolescents often involves close collaboration with parents and caregivers, particularly when nutritional rehabilitation or additional support at home is needed. Our approach balances the importance of family involvement with sensitivity to each adolescent's developmental needs, growing independence, and emotional well-being.
Adults
Treatment for adults emphasizes collaboration, autonomy, and active participation in recovery. We work with clients to address eating disorder symptoms while considering the broader psychological, relational, and practical challenges that may influence treatment. Supportive family members or partners may also be involved when appropriate and with the client's consent.
Family Involvement
Family involvement is individualized and may or may not be part of treatment, depending on the client's age, clinical needs, and therapeutic approach. When appropriate, we collaborate with family members or other support systems to strengthen their understanding of eating disorders and identify meaningful ways they can support recovery.
Care That Involves the Whole Team
Eating disorders can have significant medical and psychological effects, making collaboration among healthcare professionals an important component of treatment. With appropriate consent, we coordinate care with other members of a client’s treatment team based on their individual clinical needs, including:
Primary Care Physicians & Other Medical Providers
Registered Dietitians
Other Treating Clinicians & Specialists
Psychiatrists
Outpatient psychotherapy can be an effective treatment setting for many individuals with eating disorders, but it is not appropriate for every clinical presentation. We consider medical stability, nutritional needs, symptom severity, and overall functioning when assessing whether outpatient treatment can safely and effectively support recovery.
When a higher level of care is needed, such as intensive outpatient, partial hospitalization, residential, or inpatient treatment, we work collaboratively with clients, families when appropriate, and other healthcare providers to support referrals and transitions in care.
Integrative Psychological Services:
By The Numbers
Modalities
Therapists at IPS are trained in 14+ evidence based modalities
Based
80% of our clients are referred to us by existing clients, past clients, physicians, or other therapy practices
Experience
Clinicians at IPS bring 29+ combined years of clinical experience
Recovery takes support. Let's talk about what comes next.
Whether you’re seeking support for yourself, your child, or someone in your care, we’re here to help you explore the next steps. An initial consultation provides an opportunity to discuss your concerns, ask questions, and learn more about our approach to treatment. Together, we can determine whether IPS is an appropriate fit for your needs and discuss recommendations for moving forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
You've Got Questions, We've Got Answers.
Do I need a formal diagnosis to seek treatment?
No. You can reach out about disordered eating, anxiety around food, or body image struggles without any diagnosis at all. Part of what we do is help you make sense of what’s going on.
Can someone have an eating disorder without being underweight?
Yes. Eating disorders occur across body sizes, and appearance alone does not determine the presence or severity of an eating disorder.
What's the difference between FBT and CBT-E?
FBT is family-centered and has especially strong research behind it for teens with anorexia, with parents playing an active role in their teen’s recovery. CBT-E is a structured individual therapy that targets the thoughts and behaviors keeping an eating disorder going, and it can be used across different diagnoses.
Will parents or family members participate in treatment?
Family involvement depends on the individual’s age, treatment approach, and clinical needs. Caregivers play a central role in FBT, while other treatment approaches may focus more heavily on individual therapy.
Will treatment involve working with a physician or dietitian?
Often, yes. Eating disorders can affect physical health, so medical check-ins and monitoring matter. Depending on your needs, we may recommend, or require, working alongside a physician, registered dietitian, or other specialist. We’re happy to make referrals to these kinds of specialists when needed.
What if I'm unsure whether I have an eating disorder?
It’s common to feel uncertain about whether your experiences qualify as an eating disorder. You don’t need a formal diagnosis to seek support, and concerns about eating, food, or body image are worth addressing even if they don’t meet the criteria for a specific disorder. An initial consultation can help us better understand your concerns, discuss whether further assessment may be appropriate, and determine next steps.