Binge Eating Disorder Treatment
Overcome the cycle of binge eating and heal your relationship with food and your body. Learn all about binge eating disorder (BED) treatment here.
Why seek treatment for binge eating?
If you often eat large amounts of food quickly or feel out of control when eating, you’re not alone. BED is very common, and it can be difficult to stop binge eating on your own. Binge eating can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender or body type; symptoms vary widely.
Anxiety and depression may lead to emotional eating.
Food packages and wrappers may be hidden to avoid judgment from others.
Body image issues may become so severe that people neglect self-care.
If any of this sounds familiar, know that the right support can make all the difference.
Symptoms of binge eating
Binge eating disorder can look like:
Eating food because it’s the only thing that brings comfort
Eating large amounts of food even when not hungry
Skipping meals during the day and overeating at night (read about night eating syndrome here)
Eating until uncomfortably full
Feeling disgusted, depressed, ashamed or guilty after eating
How to break the binge eating cycle
Binge eating treatment provides a safe, inclusive healing environment to help you break the binge eating cycle. Learn how to:
Identify triggers that lead to binge eating
Change thought patterns that cause emotional distress
Develop coping skills to manage life’s stressors
Nourish your body
Feel more comfortable both alone and with others
Binge eating is about much more than food and weight. There are many components to BED, including emotional, physical, behavioral, medical and nutritional factors. And this is why BED treatment programs are so powerful.
Get the specialized binge eating support you deserve
Binge eating treatment can help you:
Address emotions and thoughts that lead to binge eating behaviors with evidence-based treatment.
In your own healing community, learn mindful eating while building skills to manage binge eating behaviors.
Get care from our specialized, experienced team including licensed therapists, registered dietitians, consulting physicians and care coordinators who are trained to provide BED treatment.
Discover the benefits of predictable eating patterns, flexibility and intuitive eating with our CARE (consistent, attuned, regular eating) model meal plan.
Family members, caregivers and friends can benefit from extensive family involvement, education and support.
Our Chicago treatment spaces are designed to accommodate all bodies comfortably.
Our community outreach liaison team will be there to support you after treatment ends.
Start healing from anxiety, depression and trauma
Let go of judgment, shame and guilt. Discover the ways that media, diet culture and toxic shame combine to increase the risk of eating disorders.
Create a better relationship with food and your body
Gain confidence in preparing and cooking meals and find common ground with peers who understand what you’re going through.
Improve your ability to cope with life’s many stressors
Learn from compassionate therapists, dietitians and doctors specializing in BED. Create your own goals and treatment plans with support from your treatment team.
Find BED treatment near you
Eating Recovery Center (ERC) is one of the only treatment centers in the U.S. offering specialized, targeted virtual and in-person programs to help you overcome binge eating. Explore our three distinct BED treatment offerings below:
Start therapy at home with our convenient online BED treatment program.
Join our acclaimed, specialized in-person BED treatment program in downtown Chicago.
Explore our nationwide eating disorder treatment centers -- all offering BED treatment.
Virtual BED treatment
Get compassionate care and evidence-based therapy from the comfort of home
In-person BED treatment in Chicago
Benefit from specialized, comprehensive programs for BED
Eating disorder treatment centers nationwide
Find recovery with others experiencing a variety of disordered eating symptoms
Online BED treatment programs
With Eating Recovery At Home, you’ll create a safe, healing environment in your own space. Address emotions, thoughts and behaviors related to binge eating and body image from the comfort and privacy of home. It's all about convenience, privacy and fitting treatment seamlessly into your everyday life. Here’s what you get with our virtual BED treatment program:
Three 3-hour weekly groups including:
Focused groups featuring evidence-based BED therapy (DBT, CBT, ACT, ERP)
Nutrition counseling and education including mealtime support, cooking classes and group meals that provide structure and accountability
Process-oriented group therapy
Behavior modification group therapy (exposures, behavioral activation)
One weekly individual therapy or family therapy session
One weekly session with a registered dietitian
Family education series
Recovery Record mobile app tracks food intake, thoughts, emotions and behaviors
Weekly peer, alumni and caregiver support groups
Eating Recovery At Home is a great option for you whether you are new to treatment or have been in treatment before.
Online therapy for BED
There is a lot that we love about our virtual program. Here are a few highlights:
Practice your new skills in the comfort and safety of your home environment, where you may struggle most.
Meet with the same peers and group leaders weekly. Other virtual BED treatment programs allow participants to drop in at will. That means you may not recognize the people in treatment with you each week.
Virtual treatment is often appreciated by busy caregivers, professionals, students and anyone needing easy access to care.
Online nutritional support
In our virtual program, meals take place during the middle hour of the three-hour treatment day. Your therapist and dietitian will alternate providing meal support.
Nutrition education and experiential groups rotate throughout the week, covering cooking, grocery shopping, meal planning and more.
Share your “aha” moments with those who understand what you’re going through.
Find nutritional support without having to leave home.
Explore various nutrition and health topics in weekly nutrition education groups.
Learn how to navigate diet culture with peers.
ED treatment program in Chicago
If you prefer in-person support and are able to travel to downtown Chicago, our in-person BED treatment program may be the best fit for you. Our specialized BED programs in Chicago include:
A seven-day-per-week partial hospitalization program (PHP)
A four-day-per-week intensive outpatient program (IOP)
Residential care is also an option. Please reach out if you think you need more intensive support.
Please know that the majority of individuals in our Chicago program are not local; many travel from out of state for this specialized care. Housing is available if you need it while in PHP.
Find cozy accommodations in Chicago
If you need housing while in our BED PHP in Chicago, we can provide you with a newly renovated, loft-style, furnished suite a few blocks from our treatment center. In the heart of downtown Chicago (just off the Magnificent Mile), you’ll find a secure condominium building where you will live with other residents receiving treatment. Accommodations for mobility concerns are available, and transportation can be coordinated to and from the treatment center. Please reach out to us if you have questions about housing or transportation.
Getting started
When you start BED PHP treatment in Chicago, you will meet with a primary care physician or nurse practitioner who specializes in working with folks with BED. During this visit we will:
Monitor your vitals
Take labs as needed
Help you manage medications and any co-occurring emotional or physical health concerns
For Providers: Partner with the nation’s leading eating disorder experts
Hope matters. But healing demands more. That’s why our treatment plans are built by physicians shaping the field, informed by the latest medical advances and designed for measurable progress, giving you a trusted partner in caring for your patients.
Research-driven strategies. Rigorous clinical protocols. Evidence-based care from experts shaping behavioral health treatment. No matter what your patient is facing, healing isn’t just possible. It’s happening here – and we’ll partner with you every step of the way.
Medical and therapeutic care in Chicago
In Chicago, our multidisciplinary BED treatment approach includes care from a variety of experts in nutrition, behavioral therapy, psychiatry/medicine (PHP only) and more. You will receive:
Evidence-based therapies that reduce the compulsion to overeat
Dietary and nutrition education and guidance
Nutrition groups with hands-on experiences, like preparing and sharing food
Outings to restaurants in downtown Chicago where you can build comfort with your new skills
Psychiatric assessment and treatment (PHP only)
Care for medical issues related to compulsive overeating (PHP only)
What’s included
Our core BED treatment programs in Chicago include several options to accommodate each individual’s unique needs. Both PHP and IOP include:
Focused groups featuring evidence-based BED therapy (DBT, CBT-E, ACT, ERP)
Nutrition counseling and education including mealtime support, cooking classes and group meals to provide structure and accountability
Process-oriented group therapy
Behavior modification group therapy (exposures, behavioral activation)
Access to physical therapy services nearby, if needed
You focus on treatment. Let us help with insurance
When you are working toward BED recovery, you shouldn't have to worry about insurance coverage and how to pay for treatment. We are here to help you understand your insurance benefits so that you can get the most out of treatment -- and move toward recovery. We will do everything we can to make the insurance and payment process as smooth as possible while you are in treatment. And, yes, many health insurance policies DO cover BED treatment.
Covered by Most Major Insurance Plans
ERC Pathlight partners with most commercial insurance providers to make treatment accessible and affordable.
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ERC treatment outcomes
No matter what you're facing, long-lasting healing is possible — and the data shows it. View all the data at our treatment outcomes website.
*These treatment outcomes reflect the progress of patients discharged from our care between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, who completed admission and discharge assessments.
of patients felt their care team met their expectations
of patients found their experience at ERC helpful
of patients say they’re likely to recommend ERC
How does binge eating therapy work?
BED therapy, available in all of our BED treatment programs, helps you overcome disordered eating thoughts and behaviors, including:
Restricting food or limiting what you eat
Yo-yo dieting
Purging through self-induced vomiting, laxative use or other means
In our programs, you may encounter any or all of the following therapies shown to be most helpful for BED recovery.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): Identify and change unhelpful thoughts and behaviors related to binge eating while gaining practical tools.
Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT): Gain flexibility with your thoughts and emotions while committing to actions in line with your values.
Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT): Learn how to use mindfulness to manage emotions and develop coping skills.
Exposure and response prevention therapy (ERP): Safely expose yourself to situations and events that may normally cause anxiety and distress so you can cope with and manage these situations in the future.
Cognitive processing therapy (CPT): Learn about trauma recovery and how trauma can impact your life, even years later. Address ways that trauma may be keeping you “stuck,” preventing your recovery.
Emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT): Intensive family work focuses on changes within the family system (e.g., increasing communication skills and increasing awareness for all family members).
Body image work: Build awareness and self-compassion as you explore perceptions and behaviors related to privilege, diet culture and societal messaging.
Our primary therapy approach to BED treatment is CBT-E (cognitive behavioral therapy -- enhanced) that specially targets eating disorder thoughts and behaviors. This is currently the top evidence-based therapy addressing eating disorder thoughts and behaviors.
CBT-E can help you:
Identify triggers. By knowing what triggers your binge eating behaviors, we can find ways to spot and cope with them differently.
Change thought patterns. Cognitive restructuring means challenging negative thoughts about food and your body.
Develop new coping skills. Gain new tips and tricks to help you handle stress, anxiety and tough moments.
CBT-E and other therapies can help you recover from any co-occurring conditions that might be contributing to binge eating, including these mental health concerns:
Substance use disorder
Group BED therapy offers you many benefits. In addition to sharing your story with peers who understand what you are going through, you will learn many new techniques to help you:
Normalize eating patterns
Stabilize medical conditions
Manage co-occurring mental health symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety, trauma)
Improve your quality of life
Binge eating recovery meal plans
Meal planning is an essential tool in all of our BED treatment programs, laying the groundwork for your recovery. This organized approach ensures that you meet your daily nutrition needs, preventing impulsive or emotional eating. Planning your meals in advance offers you multiple benefits:
You’ll feel less vulnerable over binge eating.
Eating will become less impulsive.
You’ll be less likely to make impulse buys when grocery shopping.
Eating will feel less emotional.
You’ll feel ready to allow “forbidden” or “binge” foods back into your life again.
Start to see food as safe again with help from our treatment team.
Our approach to meal planning and nutrition for BED
At ERC, we believe that all foods fit into your life, helping you get adequate nutrition. Our CARE (consistent, attuned, regular eating) approach provides dietary structure and consistency throughout the day, while allowing for flexibility in attunement with yourself. Our “balanced plate” approach focuses on hunger and fullness cues. With treatment, your hunger/fullness hormones may start to readjust. Thanks to structured eating, any cravings you have will start to feel less chaotic.
"Our program offers you freedom: freedom from shame, freedom from diet culture and freedom from a weight-centered medical system. We offer you a village where people understand you and you can find support."
Kristie Simmons
MS, RD, CEDRD-S, Eating Recovery Center nutrition director of virtual services
Shame and binge eating
Millions struggle with overeating, yet BED is often hidden in shame, secrecy and isolation. Shame is perhaps one of the most painful and uncomfortable feelings to tolerate. When people are feeling shame, they don’t just think "I have done something wrong"; shame feels like "I am wrong" or "I am unlovable" or even "I am broken."
Why does shame feel so terrible?
Shame feels like not only have you done something wrong – but that you ARE wrong as a person. Being shamed early in life, whether you were abused, bullied or insulted, is associated with more severe binge eating behaviors. And feelings of shame can even lead you to binge. Many also feel shame after a binge, which keeps the eating disorder going. In our treatment programs, we explore shame as a root cause and driver of binge eating behaviors.
How to heal shame
Shame often keeps BED hidden, but treatment can help you overcome these feelings and find support in a safe space. Shame is common, it is painful, but it can be overcome.
How to help someone with BED
Support and connection from friends and loved ones isn’t just helpful for the people who struggle with binge eating. Support from loved ones can be life changing. This is why we strongly encourage and welcome support and connection from loved ones as a cornerstone on the path to recovery. We share several resources for family members, friends and caregivers below, including a link where you can reach out to us directly.
Join our ongoing virtual, free support groups for caregivers.
Read our article: How to Help Someone With Binge Eating Disorder
Visit our resource page: Eating Disorder Support for Families
Get an in-depth look at binge eating disorder.
Your loved one has the power to heal themselves; they can harness that power when they are well supported and have appropriate care.
Our Commitment to Quality
Eating Recovery Center is accredited by The Joint
Commission, earning the Gold Seal of Approval™ for meeting
rigorous standards in safety, quality, and patient care.
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