When caregivers at Denver’s Eating Recovery Center (ERC) noticed a dramatic uptick in parents seeking treatment for children as young as 8 years old with eating disorders, they started thinking about how to address the needs of a much younger demographic. The center’s answer was a special program launched earlier this year tailored to kids ages 8 to 12.
The thinking was that young children learn differently and needed a different approach to therapy.
“They do a lot of learning and processing through play, and they don't have the same level of verbal skills that adolescents and adults have,” said Lorin Terrell, executive director of ERC and a licensed family therapist. “We also know that if a kid comes in, let's say they're 10 and they have a malnourished brain, [it] could indicate that their development is younger than their chronological age.”