Discovering New Pathways to Eating Disorder Recovery

Dana Sedlak, LCSW, CEDS-C, joined us a guest on our Recovery.com podcast episode. We were honored to learn more about her personal and professional experiences with eating disorder recovery, advancements in care, and how parents can navigate recovery with their children. Dana’s professional experience has centered around adolescents and their families, which she continues to this day.

Listen to the Full Conversation

Hear Dana Sedlak, LCSW, CEDS-C, discuss adolescent eating disorder recovery, identity, early intervention, family communication, and recovery coaching on Episode 14 of the Recovery.com Podcast.

A Passionate Eating Disorder Specialist

Dana Sedlak is a certified eating disorder specialist, licensed clinical social worker (LCSW), and a consultant with the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IAEDP). She’s worked primarily with adolescents at several treatment providers for eating disorder recovery. She strives to help teens rediscover their personal identity, learn healthy coping skills, and feel empowered and hopeful in their recovery.

Dana’s own experience as an adolescent with an eating disorder, and her subsequent recovery, fuels the daily passion she brings to her work.

Dana’s personal experience with an eating disorder began in 8th grade. Mono left her unable to participate in sports, which was a key aspect of her life. She also went through grief at that time.

“I would describe it as a perfect storm, right? There were so many different things happening in my life at that time that really kind of set me up for the actual development.”

Mono led her to lose weight and nearly every form of socialization, like school and sports. The grief, sickness, life upheaval, and stress led to unhealthy and unpleasant coping behaviors. Dana says, “It was very clear that I didn’t want to be doing the behaviors that I was doing, but I had no idea how to stop them.”

Dana bravely involved her family once she realized something was wrong. As someone who loves writing and how it let her voice what she really felt, Dana wrote her family a letter describing what she was dealing with and that she needed their help. They responded promptly and got her into treatment. But even with their quick and loving response, Dana still struggled with imposter syndrome and worrying she was just “being dramatic.” She remembers wondering,

Telling her family about her struggles also meant giving up her coping tool, uncovering her deep secret, and committing to treatment. Dana recalls, “There was a swift, also, panic, right? Of what did I just do? But then there was a moment of relief, of okay, this is no longer just mine. And someone is going to help me.”

The Importance of Communication and Forming Personal Identity

Dana’s personal story and what she’s experienced as a treatment provider highlights the crucial aspect of communication between parents and adolescents, treatment providers and patients, and even within ourselves. She suggests parents keep an open line of communication with their kids to catch issues before they arise, get prompt treatment when they do, and validate challenges along the way.

Identity also becomes a crucial issue to address in treatment for adolescents. Dana called out the tendency for teens (and adults) to tie their identity to the sport they play, their extracurricular activities, and their grade point average. While those aspects may be key parts of their personal identity, exploring who they are beyond that can help teens understand how and why eating disorders have become a coping mechanism.

Research examining eating disorder recovery from the perspective of people with lived experience has similarly identified identity, hope, meaning and purpose, supportive relationships, empowerment, and self-compassion as important parts of personal recovery.¹ Dana says,

Social media has also affected how young adults view and form their identity. Certain types of social media use, including appearance-focused content and social comparison, have been associated with body image concerns and disordered eating among young people.² The positive reinforcement of likes and shares can encourage them to develop “suitable” versions of themselves. Managing this can add stress or encourage weight loss through unrealistic portrayals of bodies and body image online.

Through treatment, Dana strives to make teens feel like they’re living an authentic life true to themselves and who they are. She says, “I want them to just feel like they’re living a life of purpose that’s true to them. And that’s going to be the biggest protective factor.”

How Parents Can Help: Early Intervention

By the time a parent notices their child struggling with an eating disorder (unless they’re well-aware of the signs), it can have already progressed to needing intensive lifestyle changes and treatment. Regarding how parents often feel when discovering this, Dana empathetically says,

Parents and caregivers who are concerned about changes in a child's eating behaviors, body image, or relationship with food can also learn more about how to help someone with an eating disorder and when professional support may be appropriate.

For children and adolescents, family involvement may also be an important part of treatment. The American Academy of Pediatrics identifies family-based treatment as an effective, evidence-based approach for adolescents with anorexia nervosa and emphasizes the role families can play in supporting recovery.³

When these interventions happen, Dana says, “We’re not just preventing eating disorders, we’re preventing a significant amount of mental health issues. You have to be integrated into your own family unit, as best as you can and have the conversations as much as you can, just as a first step, as a preventative, as part of the family culture.”

Relating to this, our host Dr. Malasri Chaudhery-Malgeri adds,

“I think my message to parents who are doing that, is that you’re trying and that matters. And eventually, usually, that will get noticed. So don’t worry, you know, like as long as you’re making that effort and you’re trying and you’re keeping those lines of communication open, that’s great.”

Advancements and Goals for Eating Disorder Treatment

More open communication and a team-oriented approach in the home is a preventative measure Dana sees having vast benefits. She says,

Family therapy and education on eating disorders also helps families heal as a collective unit. Family-based approaches are an important evidence-based treatment option for some adolescents with eating disorders.³ Many treatment centers, especially ones for adolescents, incorporate family participation and education into care.

Recovery coaching and lived-experience peer support have also emerged as additional ways to support people during eating disorder recovery. Research on lived-experience involvement in eating disorder treatment is still developing. A systematic review found some potential benefits, including increased hope and support, but results varied across studies and more research is needed to determine its effectiveness.⁴ Recovery coaching may complement professional care, but it should not be treated as a replacement for qualified medical, nutritional, or mental health treatment.

As for what Dana would tell others struggling with an eating disorder, especially teens, she says,

Find Support for Eating Disorder Recovery

Eating disorder recovery can look different for every person. If you or someone you care about is struggling, professional support can help you better understand what’s happening and explore treatment options that fit your needs.

Explore eating disorder treatment centers to compare programs based on location, level of care, insurance, treatment approach, and other factors that matter to you.