Although many patients that suffer from anorexia nervosa can be treated effectively at home, by their local doctor, some find that they have more success with their anorexia treatment when they stay in a hospital or center for eating disorders. This can be very helpful for some, as it takes away the everyday distractions and associations that would otherwise encourage them to keep on seeing food in a negative way and maintaining their poor eating habits.



Very often the hospital or clinic will have a benefit scheme where the patient is rewarded for eating well and this can be a very effective incentive to do well with their program. Of course this type of reward based therapy is very simple, but some people do respond very well to this type of anorexia treatment.

Hospital anorexia treatment has the advantage of being able to set and follow through daily targets for meals and weight gain. Of course in theory this can also be achieved at a local center for eating disorders, but in practice it is very hard to get the same level of interaction as with someone who is in hospital.

Although they do often set targets to work towards, the hospitals or centers are usually careful not to put too much pressure on the patients, as this could have a negative effect on their anorexia treatment. Very often they will prefer to use encouragement to help the patients attain their goals and to praise them when they do.

Although eating disorder centers can be very effective, they need to have a good program for when the sufferer leaves. Anorexia treatment can take a long time to really change the patients eating patterns and many continue to go to the out patients center for many months after their treatment finishes.

As with most things the anorexia treatment can benefit greatly from the support of friends and family and this can help to make the sufferer feel that they are not alone and have people that they can talk to. This can make a great difference to the patient and may help them on the way to a good recovery.

This is usually a highly reccomended avenue and is usually the most effective way to treat a sufferer. Hospitals usually have a team of specialists trained to help and advice so be sure to use them with confidence.

Good luck and be confident!