Here you will find books to support carers and self-help guides to support people affected by an eating disorder.
Janet Treasure, Gráinne Smith and Anna Crane
Provides skills and knowledge for carers supporting someone affected by an eating disorder– uses the analogy of trying to guide the carer to be like a dolphin swimming alongside the person and gently encouraging them, rather than, for example, being a rhino and being more forceful in their behaviours.
Eva Musby
Written by the mother of someone diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, following their experiences of evidence-based treatment. Offers practical advice for managing mealtimes, information about helpful things/ unhelpful things to say, and advice on developing one’s own emotional resources. Chapters of the book and other helpful resources can also be found online at anorexiafamily.com.
James Lock and Daniel Le Grange
Presents evidence that parents often play a key role in their child’s recovery, and offers practical advice and support around this.
Rachel Bryant Waugh
Provides practical tips and strategies to help equip carers of someone affected by ARFID.
Carrie Arnold
Explains anorexia nervosa from a biological perspective, which can be helpful for carers who wish to know more about the science behind their loved one’s behaviours. These scientific descriptions are paired with personal narratives and examples.
June Alexander and Cate Sangster
Describes the internal dialogue that people with eating disorders often experience, and provides interpretations for what the eating disorder may hear based upon what has been said to the person.
Gillian Harris and Elizabeth Shea
Provides support and understanding around Avoidant or Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).
Maria Ganci
Provides practical advice to empower parents undertaking family based treatment with their child.
Ulrike Schmidt, Janet Treasure and June Alexander
An evidence-based self-help programme designed to support people with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.
Ken Goss
A self-help book to support people in beating overeating using compassion focused therapy.
Patricia Graham and Christopher Freeman
A self-help book to support people in overcoming anorexia nervosa through the use of cognitive behavioural techniques.
Christopher Fairburn
Presents information about binge eating disorder and factors that often maintain this, followed by an evidence-based self-help programme to help people to overcome binge eating disorder.
Glen Waller, Victoria Mountford, Rachel Lawson, Emma Gray, Helen Cordery and Hendrik Hinrichsen
A self-help guide to help adults with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa in their recovery, and to teach skills to carers based upon cognitive behavioural therapy.
Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
The authors, both prominent health professionals in the field of nutrition and eating disorders, urge readers to embrace the goal of developing body positivity and reconnecting with one’s internal wisdom about eating—to unlearn everything they were taught about calorie-counting and other aspects of diet culture and to learn about the harm of weight stigma.
This comprehensive workbook addresses the ten principles of intuitive eating, and provides an evidence-based model to help readers develop a healthy relationship with food, pay attention to cues of hunger and satisfaction, and cultivate a profound connection with both mind and body.
Jennifer J. Thomas
Are you a picky eater? Do you worry that food will make you vomit or choke? Do you find eating to be a chore? If yes, this book is for you! Your struggles could be caused by Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID); a disorder characterized by eating a limited variety or volume of food. You may have been told that you eat like a child, but ARFID affects people right across the lifespan, and this book is the first specifically written to support adults.
Jenny McGlothlin MS,SLP and Katja Rowell MD
Kathryn Hansen
It’s never too late to make peace with food. Are you tired of eating the same 15 foods, ordering off the kids’ menu, or feeling anxious or embarrassed about what you eat? You are not alone, and it can get better. Written by a speech pathologist specializing in feeding and a family doctor specializing in relational feeding, this workbook shares tips and strategies to help you get unstuck. It’s a no-pressure, how-to guide filled with ideas and activities to explore at your own pace.
Brain over Binge provides both a gripping personal account and an informative scientific perspective on bulimia and binge eating disorder. The author, Kathryn Hansen, candidly shares her experience as a bulimic and her alternative approach to recovery. Brain over Binge is different than other eating disorder books which typically present binge eating and purging as symptoms of complex emotional and psychological problems.
Jenni Schaefer
Jenni had been in an abusive relationship with Ed for far too long. He controlled Jenni’s life, distorted her self-image, and tried to physically harm her throughout their long affair. Then, in therapy, Jenni learned to treat her eating disorder as a relationship, not a condition. By thinking of her eating disorder as a unique personality separate from her own, Jenni was able to break up with Ed once and for all.