ABSTRACT
This chapter lists the overall structure of Parent-Based Prevention, which was empirically tested in families affected by parental eating disorders. Every phase of this intervention for parents with eating disorders is described, so that mental health providers can incorporate this manualized intervention in their work with parents who express concerns over their own or their children’s shape, weight, and eating-related behaviors, child body image experiences, and mealtime interactions. Parent-Based Prevention is a time-limited program that is semi-structured and simple to integrate into one’s clinical practice. The program includes three phases: in Phase One, the therapist works with the parents to assess the individualized risk to their child, and define the individualized goals of the intervention. Meetings in Phase Two focus on the family’s interactions and transactional patterns around eating, given the parental cognitions around shape and weight, and their impact on feeding and eating practices. Meetings in Phase Two mostly take place with the father or the mother with the eating disorder history. During Phase Three, the sessions aim to generalize the insights achieved in the program thus far into revisiting additional challenges the parents identify in their parenting, beyond their children’s diet, body image, and weight.
