Teenage Eating Disorders: Support & Treatment Options

The Counseling Corner | Orlando, FL | est. 1998

Eating Disorder Therapy for Teenagers in Orlando

Compassionate Support for Teens Navigating Food, Body Image, and Emotional Health

Adolescence is a time of enormous physical, emotional, and social change. Add academic pressure, social comparison, trauma, or identity struggles—and it's no surprise that many teens develop complicated relationships with food, body image, and control.

At The Counseling Corner, we specialize in teen-focused eating disorder therapy, combining clinical expertise with compassion and respect. Since 1998, we’ve helped teenagers and their families across Central Florida find healing, understanding, and a path toward recovery that honors the whole person—not just the symptoms.

🧠 What Eating Disorders Look Like in Teens

Teen eating disorders aren’t always easy to spot. Some teens restrict silently. Others binge and purge in secret. Many obsess about “clean” eating, body shape, or control in ways that feel overwhelming—even if they don’t meet diagnostic criteria.

Common warning signs:

  • Rapid weight loss or gain

  • Skipping meals or “eating in secret”

  • Obsessive focus on calories, macros, or “healthy” eating

  • Excessive exercise or compulsive movement

  • Fear of gaining weight or distorted body image

  • Frequent stomachaches, dizziness, or fatigue

  • Mood swings, isolation, or irritability

  • Panic around food-related events like family meals or social gatherings

Whether your teen is deeply struggling or simply showing early signs of disordered eating, early intervention matters—and recovery is possible.

📘 Common Diagnoses in Teens

We support teens facing a range of clinical and subclinical eating concerns, including:

  • Anorexia Nervosa – Restriction of food, intense fear of weight gain, and obsessive body checking

  • Bulimia Nervosa – Cycles of bingeing followed by purging or overexercising

  • Binge Eating Disorder (BED) – Frequent overeating episodes accompanied by guilt or shame

  • ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) – Extreme pickiness or food refusal due to sensory or fear-based triggers

  • Orthorexia – Obsessive focus on “clean” or “perfect” eating that causes distress or nutritional harm

  • Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) – Obsessive concern over perceived physical flaws

🛠️ How We Help Teens Heal

We tailor every treatment plan to the teen’s emotional maturity, personality, and lived experience. Our approach integrates:

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): To reframe unhelpful thoughts about food, weight, and control

  • Family-Based Treatment (FBT): Involves parents in structured support for meals and symptom reduction

  • Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT): To address underlying conflicts or identity struggles driving the behavior

  • Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT): Builds self-worth and emotional safety

  • Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT): Teaches teens how to regulate emotion, tolerate distress, and build healthy coping tools

  • Expressive Arts & Narrative Therapy: Helps teens tell their story through journaling, movement, or creative expression

  • Nutrition Team Collaboration: We work alongside dietitians, pediatricians, or medical providers to ensure physical and emotional stabilization

💡 What Parents Need to Know

1. Eating disorders in teens aren’t just about food.
They’re about pain, perfectionism, anxiety, fear, or a need for control. Fixing the food alone won’t solve the root issue.

2. Teens may hide symptoms or minimize the problem.
Many are ashamed, ambivalent, or afraid to lose the sense of control their eating behaviors provide. Compassionate intervention is essential.

3. Family involvement is a powerful part of recovery.
In Family-Based Treatment (FBT), parents are not blamed—they’re empowered. We’ll teach you how to lovingly support your teen’s recovery, even when it feels hard.

4. Recovery is not linear—but it is possible.
There will be ups and downs, resistance and breakthrough moments. We’re here to guide the process with stability and skill.

5. Early treatment leads to better outcomes.
Don’t “wait and see.” Early care prevents long-term complications and improves mental, physical, and relational health.

💬 Real Testimonials from Teens and Parents

“At first I didn’t even think I had a problem. I just wanted to be ‘healthy.’ But it took over everything. Counseling helped me finally feel like I was enough—even without being perfect.”
— Teen client, age 17

“We were walking on eggshells at every meal. I thought I was helping by adjusting everything for her. Counseling taught us how to support her without feeding the fear. It gave us back our daughter.”
— Parent of a teen in recovery

“I couldn’t look in the mirror without hating myself. Now I’m learning to treat myself like someone worth caring for. I never thought I’d get here—but I’m getting stronger.”
— Teen client, age 16

“Counseling at The Counseling Corner gave us back our daughter. Family therapy taught us healing communication." —Parent of a recovered teen

"Online therapy provided flexibility and privacy, crucial for overcoming my bulimia." —Eating Disorder client

🌟 Why Families Trust The Counseling Corner for Teen Eating Disorders

  • 🧠 Full-time, licensed therapists with expertise in adolescent eating disorders, trauma, and identity

  • 🤝 Certified in Family-Based Treatment (FBT) and trauma-informed approaches

  • 🎨 Creative therapies that resonate with teen communication styles

  • 🩺 Collaborative with dietitians, physicians, and school teams

  • 💻 In-person sessions in Orlando, Clermont & Orange City/Deland + secure telehealth statewide

📞 Begin the Journey to Recovery

Your teen deserves freedom—not fear. Peace—not perfection.
Let’s walk this journey with them—together.

📞 Call The Counseling Corner today at 407-843-4968 to schedule a consultation
📧 info@counselingcorner.net
🌐 www.counselingcorner.net
📍 Serving teens and families across Central Florida—in person and online.