Where Healing Relationships with Food
Begin, and Nourishment Feels Like Home

Understanding Teen Disordered Eating Disorders

When disordered eating begins affecting your teen’s wellbeing, finding the right guidance becomes crucial. At Ascend Healthcare, we honor each individual path, creating personalized care journeys that address disordered eating and underlying mental health challenges at their roots—fostering pathways to profound change and lasting wellness.

Many teens develop unhealthy eating habits that don’t quite fit into the clinical definition of anorexia or bulimia, but they don’t make them any less serious. Disordered eating in teens refers to those whose preoccupation with food doesn’t reach the intensity necessary for an eating disorder diagnosis, yet still impacts their mental health and relationship with food. These patterns require specialized approaches that address both eating behaviors and underlying emotional challenges.

Signs Your Teen May Need Support:

Preoccupation with food or body weight
Restrictive eating patterns or food avoidance
Secretive behaviors around eating
Mood changes related to food or eating
Social withdrawal, especially around meals
Excessive exercise or compensatory behaviors
Body image distortion or negative self-talk
Using food to cope with emotions or stress
Anxiety around eating in social situations

Recognizing 3 or more signs?

Schedule a confidential assessment

Why Teens Are Vulnerable to Disordered Eating

The adolescent brain continues developing until age 25, with regions governing emotional regulation and body image formation still maturing. This neurological reality creates unique vulnerabilities for disordered eating:

Identity formation challenges make teens more susceptible to body image concerns and comparison
Social media and cultural pressures create unrealistic beauty standards and constant comparison opportunities
Emotional regulation difficulties can lead to using food as a coping mechanism for stress or trauma
Academic and social pressures intensify during adolescence, potentially triggering control-seeking through food
Family dynamics around food and body image significantly impact teens’ developing relationships with eating
Co-occurring mental health conditions like anxiety and depression often manifest through disordered eating patterns
Biological changes during puberty can trigger body dissatisfaction and restrictive eating behaviors

Identity formation challenges

Identity formation challenges make teens more susceptible to body image concerns and comparison

Social media and cultural pressures

Social media and cultural pressures create unrealistic beauty standards and constant comparison opportunities

Emotional regulation difficulties

Emotional regulation difficulties can lead to using food as a coping mechanism for stress or trauma

Academic and social pressures

Academic and social pressures intensify during adolescence, potentially triggering control-seeking through food

Family dynamics around food and body image

Family dynamics around food and body image significantly impact teens’ developing relationships with eating

Co-occurring mental health conditions

Co-occurring mental health conditions like anxiety and depression often manifest through disordered eating patterns

Biological changes during puberty

Biological changes during puberty can trigger body dissatisfaction and restrictive eating behaviors

The Ascend Difference:

Honoring Each Individual Path

At Ascend, we provide diagnostic-specific care that champions inner strength through our four pillars of excellence:

Clinical Excellence: Evidence-based therapies delivered by experts with a 3:1 therapist-to-client ratio, ensuring personalized attention to your teen’s unique needs
Family Integration: Industry-leading 6+ hours weekly of parent programming that strengthens family connections and ensures lasting change
Premium Experience: Curated spaces for personal wellbeing that combine clinical sophistication with the comfort of home
Innovative Approach: Progressive healing methods including eco-psychology and animal-assisted therapy in a nurturing environment

Clinical Excellence

Clinical Excellence: Evidence-based therapies delivered by experts with a 3:1 therapist-to-client ratio, ensuring personalized attention to your teen’s unique needs

Family Integration

Family Integration: Industry-leading 6+ hours weekly of parent programming that strengthens family connections and ensures lasting change

Premium Experience

Premium Experience: Curated spaces for personal wellbeing that combine clinical sophistication with the comfort of home

Innovative Approach:

Innovative Approach: Progressive healing methods including eco-psychology and animal-assisted therapy in a nurturing environment

The Difference Authentic Care Makes

Our personalized approach to teen disordered eating recovery creates profound change:

88%

of teens demonstrate improved relationship with food and eating patterns

91%

of families report strengthened communication and healthier food dynamics

84%

of teens show significant improvement in body image and emotional regulation

Kallos House:

A Specialized Healing
Environment

Teens struggling with disordered eating behaviors find their path to recovery at Kallos House, our specialized residential program thoughtfully designed for adolescents aged 12-17 who struggle with primary mental health disorders and secondary disordered eating behaviors. Located in the tranquil hills of Tarzana, this all-gender healing sanctuary provides comprehensive care that addresses underlying mental health issues while fostering balanced relationships with food, exercise, and body image. Clients participate in exposure outings to restaurants and grocery stores with therapeutic support to build healthier relationships with food and their bodies, while eco-psychology and animal-assisted therapy programs create a holistic environment for healing.

Experience Kallos House

“I thought it was impossible to get better. I was wrong. ”
— Ascend Client

“Group therapy helped me find my voice and use it. ”
— Ascend Client

“The creative arts program helped me express feelings I’d buried for years. ”
— Ascend Client

“This place didn’t just treat the symptoms—it gave me purpose. ”
— Ascend Client

Talk to Us Today

Common Questions
About Teen Disordered
Eating Recovery

What is the difference between disordered eating and an eating disorder?

Disordered eating involves unhealthy eating habits that don’t meet the clinical criteria for eating disorders like anorexia or bulimia, but are still serious and impactful. At Ascend, our specialized approach focuses on addressing the underlying mental health issues contributing to these behaviors, recognizing that early intervention can prevent progression to more severe eating disorders.

How does disordered eating often connect to mental health conditions?

Disordered eating is frequently a symptom of larger mental health challenges, such as anxiety, depression, or trauma. Teens may use food restriction, binging, or other eating behaviors to cope with overwhelming emotions or regain a sense of control. Our treatment addresses these root causes alongside the eating behaviors for comprehensive healing.

How long does disordered eating recovery typically take for teens?

Most teens in our specialized programs engage in treatment for 45-90 days, though each recovery journey is unique. Building healthy relationships with food and developing emotional coping skills takes time. The process extends beyond residential care through our comprehensive family support and alumni programming.

Will my teen be able to develop a healthy relationship with food?

Absolutely. Our goal is to help teens develop balanced, intuitive relationships with eating that support both physical and emotional wellbeing. We work with registered dieticians through weekly sessions and use evidence-based approaches like CBT-E, DBT, and RO-DBT to help teens understand nutrition, honor hunger cues, and separate food from emotional regulation. Exposure outings to restaurants and grocery stores provide real-world practice in developing healthy food relationships.

How does family involvement help with disordered eating recovery?

Family involvement is crucial because eating behaviors often develop within family systems and cultural contexts. Our extensive family programming helps parents understand disordered eating, learn supportive communication around food and body image, and create home environments that promote healthy relationships with eating and self-image.

What if my teen has both mental health challenges and disordered eating?

This is very common, and our specialized approach addresses both simultaneously. We recognize that sustainable recovery requires treating the underlying mental health conditions while developing healthy eating patterns, body acceptance, and emotional regulation skills. Our dual-diagnosis approach ensures comprehensive care for lasting healing.

Resources on Teen Disordered Eating Recovery

Explore our collection of articles and resources to deepen your
understanding of teen disordered eating and recovery approaches: