ARFID Treatment

ARFID Treatment in Richmond & Across Virginia

Improve Your Health & Balance Nutrition

Have you been told you’re a “picky eater?” Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) isn’t the same as picky eating — and it can cause complications that affect your overall health and appetite due to inadequate nutrition. Get the support you need at CEDAR so you can recover at home and create a healthy relationship with food.

Ready to move beyond the restrictions of ARFID and get the help you need to live a balanced and healthy life? Reach out today to learn more.

How Do We Treat ARFID?

We treat ARFID with a highly specialized multi team approach that involves loved ones. We prefer in person where we can sit in our comfortable dining room together and try new foods in a supportive environment.

Benefits of ARFID Treatment

Overcome Food Fears

Embrace change like the seasons as you move past barriers and expand your palette.

Support Network

We provide holistic care for you to stand tall and flourish as you recover at home.

Build Confidence

Rediscover confidence in food decisions as you take steps toward balanced nutrition.

Child & Teen Program

Adult Program

Individual Therapy

Group Therapy

Nutrition Counseling

How Can ARFID Treatment at CEDAR Help?

ARFID is a serious condition that can lead to significant health complications due to an overall nutritional deficiency. You may be averse to eating certain foods for a variety of reasons, many of them psychological in nature, but treatment at CEDAR can help you reestablish control over your phobias surrounding food and learn to make healthier choices.

Maintain a Healthy Weight

At CEDAR, ARFID treatment focuses on helping individuals achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Through a combination of nutritional therapy, medical monitoring, and psychological support, we help you address problematic thoughts about food that affect your overall health and address the underlying causes of ARFID to help you develop healthy eating habits.

Prevent Health Complications

ARFID can lead to serious health complications, including malnutrition, growth delays, and weakened immune systems. Our program aims to prevent these complications by addressing the underlying causes of the disorder and providing necessary interventions.

Navigate Aversions & Fears About Food

Many experts assert that ARFID is often accompanied by underlying mental health concerns, sensory aversions, and fears related to food. Our program addresses these issues through a combination of therapy, education, and nutritional guidance and support to help you overcome your challenges and develop a healthier relationship with food.

Improve Social Interactions

Food is often a part of social functions, and ARFID can significantly impact your social life, leading to avoidance of loved ones and social activities involving food. This can strain relationships and distract you from work or school responsibilities. Our program provides support and guidance to help you navigate these challenges and develop healthier social coping mechanisms.

Improve Physical Health

ARFID affects nutrition, and correspondingly, this also affects various aspects of physical health which may include electrolyte imbalances, low or high blood pressure, and decreased immune function. With regular treatment and dietary coaching, you can improve your overall physical health, boost immune function, gut health, and brain health.

Improve Your Quality of Life

Any eating disorder can disrupt your quality of life and leave you disengaged from normal routines and activities that you enjoy. When you get treatment and support for ARFID, you’ll be able to redefine your relationship with food and move beyond the restrictions and complications that ARFID can cause.

Questions About ARFID Treatment?

ARFID can limit your life in unexpected ways, and you likely have questions. At CEDAR, our approach blends evidence-based treatments with dietary care to help you overcome food fears and branch out toward new options. With a focus on acknowledging the emotional and psychological aspects of ARFID, we’ll address your concerns and guide you toward a healthier relationship with food. Together, we’ll support you as you grow stronger, one day at a time.

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How is ARFID similar to anorexia?

Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is a new diagnosis in the DSM-5, and was previously referred to as “Selective Eating Disorder.” ARFID is similar to anorexia in that both disorders involve limitations in the amount and/or types of food consumed, but unlike anorexia, ARFID does not involve any distress about body shape or size, or fears of fatness.

How is ARFID diagnosed?

ARFID is diagnosed when an eating or feeding disturbance (e.g., apparent lack of interest in eating or food; avoidance based on the sensory characteristics of food; concern about aversive consequences of eating) as manifested by persistent failure to meet appropriate nutritional and/or energy needs associated with significant weight loss, nutritional deficiency, dependence on enteral feeding, and interference with psychosocial functioning, among other signs/symptoms.

Are there any risk factors associated with ARFID?

As with all eating disorders, the risk factors for ARFID involve a range of biological, psychological, and sociocultural issues. Researchers know much less about what puts someone at risk of developing ARFID, but according to some research, people with autism spectrum conditions are much more likely to develop ARFID, as are those with ADHD and intellectual disabilities, and children who don’t outgrow normal picky eating, or in whom picky eating is severe.

Testimonials

Client’s We’ve Helped

"Our son has battled with gagging, coughing and throwing up after meals since he was in second grade. His sophomore year he began playing football for the first time. Excitingly this led to him being offered scholarships to play in college. Our family is grateful that we found Richmond Center for Eating Disorders. Most importantly, they correctly diagnosed our son and were the experts he truly needed."

"Our daughter is now fully recovered. We feel a relief and gratitude that can hardly be described. FBT works. We were fortunate to find the Richmond Center for Eating Disorders and their unique FBT program. Not only will you get your loved one back, your family will emerge stronger and more united than before."

"My daughter is the happiest she has been in years. I had heard of other families who stressed the importance of getting to that higher weight, that true "recovery weight" where the ED sufferer's psychological challenges dissipate. Now we were actually seeing living proof of its benefits. I cannot express enough gratitude to the Julies for helping us get here."

"I would recommend Julie Knopp from Richmond Center for Eating Disorders. She is an excellent listener who authentically cares about her clients' recovery, growth, and health."

"I am so excited to have Richmond Center for Eating Disorders doing this much needed work in our community. The team is very dedicated, knowledgeable, and skilled in treating eating disorders and providing wholistic support to their clients. In a family system, healing one person takes the efforts of the entire system and this team understands that. Richmond Center for Eating Disorders is a part of my referral base, and I are confident people will get the very best treatment there."

"So excited to see the work of this wonderful team growing in the Richmond community. The staff and providers at the Richmond Center for Eating Disorders are experts in their field. I deeply appreciate their skills, expertise and compassion. The level dedication to supporting patients and their families is incredible."

"As a therapist specializing in eating disorders, I am thrilled to have the Richmond Center for Eating Disorders in our community. I have worked with both Julie Guild and Julie Knopp for a number of years and am always impressed with their care, compassion, and treatment expertise."

Your Recovery Begins Here

Don’t let eating disorders or anxiety stand in the way. Your journey to a healthier, happier you starts now. Take the first step towards recovery and contact us today!