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Helpful Books

Here you will find books to support carers and self-help guides to support people affected by an eating disorder.

Books to Support Carers

Skills-based Learning for Caring for a Loved One with an Eating Disorder: The New Maudsley Method (2nd edition)

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.

Anorexia and other Eating Disorders: how to help your child eat well and be well: Practical solutions, compassionate communication tools and emotional support for parents of children and teenagers

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.

Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder (2nd edition)

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.

ARFID Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: A Guide for Parents and Carers

Rachel Bryant Waugh

Provides practical tips and strategies to help equip carers of someone affected by ARFID.

Decoding Anorexia

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.

ED Says U Said: Eating Disorder Translator

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.

Food Refusal and Avoidant Eating in Children, including those with Autism Spectrum Conditions: A Practical Guide for Parents and Professionals

Gillian Harris and Elizabeth Shea

Provides support and understanding around Avoidant or Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).

Survive FBT: Skills Manual for Parents Undertaking Family Based Treatment (FBT) for Child and Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa

Maria Ganci

Provides practical advice to empower parents undertaking family based treatment with their child.

Self Help Books

Getting Better Bite by Bite: A Survival Kit for Sufferers of Bulimia Nervosa and Binge Eating Disorders

Ulrike Schmidt, Janet Treasure and June Alexander

An evidence-based self-help programme designed to support people with bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.

The Compassionate Mind Approach to Beating Overeating Using Compassion Focused Therapy

Ken Goss

A self-help book to support people in beating overeating using compassion focused therapy.

Overcoming Anorexia Nervosa 2nd Edition: A self-help guide using cognitive behavioural techniques

Patricia Graham and Christopher Freeman

A self-help book to support people in overcoming anorexia nervosa through the use of cognitive behavioural techniques.

Overcoming Binge Eating 2nd Edition: The Proven Program to Learn Why You Binge and How You Can Stop

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.

Beating Your Eating Disorder: A Cognitive Behavioural Self-Help Guide for Adult Sufferers and their Carers

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.

Intuitive Eating, 4th Edition: A Revolutionary Anti-Diet Approach

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.

The Intuitive Eating Workbook: Ten Principles for Nourishing a Healthy Relationship with Food (A New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook)

Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch

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.

The Picky Eater's Recovery Book: Overcoming Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder

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.

Conquer Picky Eating for Teens and Adults: Activities and Strategies for Selective Eaters

Jenny McGlothlin MS,SLP and Katja Rowell MD

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.