Essential Books for Parents & Caregivers of Teens with Eating Disorders
February 10, 2025 | By Carissa Hannum
This is a repost of our blog originally posted in 2024.
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Understanding Eating Disorders and Finding Resources
Whenever a child is newly diagnosed with an eating disorder—whether anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder (BED), bulimia nervosa, avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), or any other combination of these symptoms—the process for what to do, how to help the child recover, or where to go for treatment can be anxiety-provoking and confusing. Parents and caregivers frequently ask me for resources and books they can read to gain knowledge about their child’s eating disorder.
Below are some of my favorite books that I have recommended through the years to help parents and caregivers understand eating disorders, their symptoms, treatment options, complications, and the recovery process. Each book below has a unique approach, so I recommend choosing the one that speaks most with you and provides you with the most empathy and understanding for your unique situation. If you’re unsure if these books are right for you at this stage, reach out to a therapist or treating professional for guidance.
Recommended Books for Parents and Caregivers
Source: Amazon.com
When Your Teen Has an Eating Disorder: Practical Strategies to Help Your Teen Recover from Anorexia, Bulimia, and Binge Eating by Lauren Muhlheim, PsyD
This book guides parents and caregivers on an evidence-based approach called Family Based Treatment (FBT) to helping their child with anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, or bulimia nervosa recovery. FBT can always feel daunting to families because it has parents and caregivers take control of all food choices. Dr. Lauren Muhlheim provides practical strategies to help parents and caregivers learn how to oversee food behaviors, while normalizing food choices and food behaviors in a compassionate and supportive environment. In addition, the book guides readers on preparing meals using food flexibility, coping behaviors to help the teen regulate their emotions and stress while eating, and helps parents and caregivers learn how to transition their child to more intuitive eating behaviors.
Dr. Muhlheim is very transparent and open with readers about some of the difficulties of family-based treatment. Many families in the past during my experience working with teens of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder have reported that at times helping a child recover by being in charge of mealtimes can be stressful. This book helps provide compassion to the necessary, but difficult role of feeling as though you are working against the eating disorder during mealtimes by using case examples. The examples are of real-life situations with clients that many parents and caregivers can relate to. The book instills while normalizing the challenge ahead towards eating disorder recovery.
Source: Amazon.com
How to Nourish Your Child Through an Eating Disorder: A Simple, Plate-by-Plate Approach® to Rebuilding a Healthy Relationship with Food by Casey Crosbie and Wendy Sterling
Building on the concepts of FBT, this book introduces the Plate-by-Plate Approach to help families conceptualize and understand how to build and feed their children through recovery from binge eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa with a practical guide on food choices. The Plate-by-Plate Approach, helps parents and caregivers learn through a practical guide utilizing a 10 inch plate how to feed their child during FBT or any other evidence based method within three different parts.
Part one of the book provides foundational knowledge about eating disorders, including diagnosis, working with a multidisciplinary treatment team, and understanding the essential role of that “village” in recovery. It also covers common medical concerns related to food, signs and symptoms of eating disorders, and the impact of compulsive exercise, particularly for athletes.
Part two introduces the Plate-by-Plate Method and uses visualizations to help parents and caregivers learn how to nourish their child through an eating disorder. This method promotes an “all foods fit” and balanced approach, helping parents and caregivers create well-rounded meals without relying on calorie counting. The authors emphasize the importance of proper nutrition during a child’s growth and development, breaking down the need for grains/starches, fruits, vegetables, proteins, and fats on every plate. The book provides visual meal and snack suggestions based on the method, illustrating how to structure balanced nutrition using a 10-inch plate.
Part three delves into maintaining recovery from anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and bulimia nervosa. It offers guidance on shifting away from weight- and diet-related comments, supporting weight maintenance or gain, navigating eating while traveling, and working through food fears with children. This section presents a clear and practical perspective on what a recovery-focused plate should look like.
For more information visit the Plate-by-Plate Approach Website.
Source: Amazon.com
Skills-based Caring for a Loved One with an Eating Disorder by Janet Treasure, Gráinne Smith, and Anna Crane
This book serves as a valuable guide and starting point for parents and caregivers who are struggling to understand a child’s bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, or binge eating disorder and are unsure where to begin. It addresses many common questions about the treatment and recovery process. Navigating treatment can be challenging for both the child, parent, caregivers, and loved ones. This book aims to help caregivers strengthen their ability to provide support by offering coping skills and guidance. It also discusses how to support siblings and partners, making it a comprehensive resource for families.
Additionally, the book encourages caregivers to develop emotional support strategies by examining different caregiving styles, modeling healthy emotional and problem-solving behaviors, and approaching eating disorder behaviors with empathy. Through real-life scenarios and role-playing exercises, caregivers can improve their communication and response skills.
Ultimately, this book serves as a guide to help caregivers provide the necessary support in the early days of an eating disorder diagnosis while fostering emotional resilience for both the child and their loved ones—paving the way for long-term recovery.
Source: Amazon.com
Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder by James Lock and Daniel Le Grange
This book is a comprehensive guide designed to help parents and caregivers act quickly and compassionately when their child is experiencing an eating disorder, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder. In this three-part book, Lock and Le Grange help readers not only understand eating disorders but also emphasize the importance of seeking treatment promptly—and how to do so effectively. Part one and two of the book explore the complexities of eating disorders and available treatment options, the authors provide insight into how these illnesses affect thought patterns and emotions, helping caregivers develop greater empathy and understanding. Part three of the book introduces practical skills for managing everyday challenges, such as monitoring eating and exercise, navigating mealtimes and the emotions they may trigger, collaborating successfully with a treatment team, and addressing concerns about weight and the fear of weight gain. Overall, this book equips parents and caregivers with effective techniques to reduce power struggles and foster a sense of unity in the recovery process—helping their child feel supported, empowered, and resilient.
Source: Amazon.com
Anorexia and other Eating Disorders: how to help your child eat well and be well by Eva Musby
Much like several of the books listed in this blog, Eva Musby’s book provides valuable knowledge on anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and bulimia nervosa, along with their corresponding treatment options. Recently updated in 2024, this book offers a wealth of research-backed insights. One of my favorite parts of this book is how it really helps parents and caregivers navigate challenging emotional scenarios that arise during eating disorder recovery. It provides guidance on supporting a child through difficult emotions—such as anger, sadness, frustration, irritability, and distress—when challenging the eating disorder. The book also helps caregivers recognize these emotions and respond effectively to behaviors that may be masking deeper struggles.
In addition to emotional support strategies, the book addresses other common behaviors that may come along with anorexia nervosa, binge eating disorder, such as body checking, compulsive exercise, frequent self-weighing, and even self-harm. Readers are guided on how to empathize with their child and communicate that empathy through effective strategies. At times, parents and caregivers often feel as though they are on opposing sides with their child, learning to validate emotions beneath certain behaviors can foster connection, positive modeling, and long-term recovery.
Furthermore, the book acknowledges the emotional toll on caregivers, offering compassion and practical advice for balancing their own needs while supporting their child—whether that means managing responsibilities with other children, partners, or work. Caregivers have a lot to juggle, and this book serves as a valuable resource for navigating the recovery journey with empathy and resilience.
Recommended Books for Teens
Source: Amazon.com
The Intuitive Eating Workbook for Teens: A Non-Diet, Body Positive Approach to Building a Healthy Relationship with Food by Elyse Resch
This workbook helps teens break free from diet culture and develop a positive relationship with food and their bodies. It includes prompts, worksheets, and activities to support recovery. Learn the importance of an anti-diet, non-diet approach in the treatment of eating disorders. One of the key environmental factors related to the development of eating disorders—such as bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder—is the pervasive influence of diet culture. Our society is surrounded by fad diets, idealized body types, and restrictive ideas around what is “healthy” and “unhealthy” around food.
This workbook will help adolescents with eating disorder symptoms examine their own relationship with food, diet culture, and the harmful weight stigma in our culture. The goal of intuitive eating is to unlearn rigid ideas about health and instead embrace an “all foods fit” mentality while recovering from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. This book helps teens to learn kindness and self-compassion with their bodies, explore how food can be a source of nourishment rather than a means of control or body manipulation, and develop a joyful relationship with movement and exercise. Through guided prompts, worksheets, and activities, teens are supported in their journey toward healing and food freedom.
Source: Amazon.com
What's Eating You? A Workbook for Teens with Anorexia, Bulimia, and other Eating Disorders by Tammy Nelson PhD
This is another great workbook to help teens examine behaviors related to anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. A quick note: this workbook is primarily designed for teen girls. If using it with a boy or a non-binary individual, parents and caregivers may want to modify certain aspects or work with a clinician who can adapt some of the activities.
Beyond addressing eating disorder behaviors, this workbook also explores themes such as self-confidence, body image, identity, anxiety, and perfectionism. Through various activities and prompts, teens are encouraged to examine how their eating disorder behaviors may be connected to emotional regulation, friendships, stress, and emotions such as depression. The workbook also introduces coping skills to help teens navigate their recovery and develop healthier ways to manage their emotions.
Addressing Diet Culture and Body Image
Source: Amazon.com
Fat Talk: Parenting in the Age of Diet Culture by Virginia Sole-Smith
This book by Virginia Sole-Smith can help parents and caregivers explore and address body image struggles faced by teens with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder. Virginia quotes, “By the time they reach kindergarten, most kids believe that ‘fat’ is bad. By middle school, more than a quarter of them have gone on a diet. What are parents and caregivers supposed to do?”
One of the most challenging roles of a parent when helping their child recover from an eating disorder, such as binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, or anorexia nervosa, is guiding their child through body image issues. This includes embracing and respecting their bodies, regaining lost weight, and learning to live in a body that may be considered “fat” by societal standards. Body image ideals are a significant factor in eating disorders, so parents and caregivers should explore their own values and biases around body image and body size.
In our society, worth and value are often equated with the size of one’s body. Billions of dollars have been spent “fighting obesity,” yet research shows that Americans aren’t getting thinner or feeling better about their bodies. Virginia Sole-Smith explores fatphobia and how it shapes children’s self-perception. She also offers ways for families to shift their perspectives on health, weight, and self-worth.
Parents and caregivers are taken on a journey to dismantle harmful ideas about health and how it relates to weight. Through this process, they can compassionately examine their own biases around body size—and we all have them! Virginia Sole-Smith blends research with firsthand interviews to create a narrative that empowers parents and caregivers to help their children respect and embrace themselves, even in a society where that can be difficult.
Bonus: Emotional Support for Parents and Caregivers
Source: Amazon.com
What to Say to Kids When Nothing Seems to Work: A Practical Guide for Parents and Caregivers by Adele Lafrance and Ashley P. Miller
Although not directly related to eating disorders, Adele Lafrance is widely recognized for her work in emotion-focused family therapy, which is frequently used in the treatment of eating disorders. This book examines common emotional struggles experienced by children and their parents and caregivers, offering skills, scripts, and practical advice to help parents learn how to validate emotions, provide empathy, and “build a bridge” between themselves and their children. These emotional validation skills can be highly reparative and beneficial during recovery from eating disorders.
Final Thoughts
These books offer valuable insights and strategies to help parents, caregivers, and teens navigate the challenges of eating disorders. If you need further support, don’t hesitate to reach out to a qualified therapist or healthcare professional. Recovery is a journey, and you don’t have to do it alone. For more resources, visit our website or contact us for guidance.
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