My Kid is Back: Empowering Parents with Family-Based Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa

by June Alexander, Daniel Le Grange

Overview

When anorexia nervosa (AN) develops in a child, it impacts the entire family. However, family-based treatment (FBT) offers hope by reinstating fundamental family coping principles—empowering parents and supporting them and their children in overcoming this serious psychiatric illness.

My Kid is Back serves as an accessible guide to understanding FBT for parents of children with AN and the healthcare professionals working with them. Through a series of first-person interviews held with the parents, the siblings, and the child with anorexia, this book vividly presents the daily, 24/7 challenges of the illness on the family. Parents describe their frustrations in seeking help for their child, and sufferers discuss how the illness gets into their mind. Supplementing chapters detail how to tell if your child has AN, present an approachable explanation of FBT, and describe how to navigate the search for FBT. This second edition includes updated evidence-based research findings and revised content, language, and family resources. The featured case studies have been updated to be more neurodiverse, gender diverse, and ethnically diverse, as compared with the first edition.

Presented in a way that parents, doctors, and treatment teams can readily relate to and understand, this book proves an essential resource for families who want to win the battle with anorexia nervosa.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032742212
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/30/2025
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	310
Product dimensions:	5.06(w) x 7.81(h) x (d)

About the Author

June Alexander is a diarist, author, life-writing mentor, and ardent eating disorder advocate. Anorexia nervosa has shaped June’s life and writing career. Her PhD explores diary writing as a self-help tool in eating disorder recovery.

Daniel Le Grange, PhD, holds a distinguished professorship in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California in San Francisco and is the director of the Eating Disorders Program in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. Family-based Treatment of Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa: From the Maudsley Hospital Beginnings to Today  Part 1: At Home with the Family  2. Heidi –mother of Paul  3. Veronica–mother of Toby  4. Elizabeth –mother of Lily  5. Peta – Mother of Briony  6. Tessa –mother of Julia  7. Stuart and Marie – Parents of Harry  8. Sarah and Peter– Parents of Isla  9. Grace –mother of Erica  10. Fiona —mother of Elly  11. Jill –mother of Michelle  12. Miranda —mother of Frankie  Part 2: When a Twin has Anorexia Nervosa 13. Maree –mother of Twin Girls, Charlie With AN  14. Jane and Michelle Parents of Twin Girls, Lily With AN  15. Leanne –mother of Twin Boy/girl, Paige With AN  Part 3: How my Family helped me to get Back  16. Frankie’s Story  17. Michelle’s Story  18. Paige’s Story  19. Erica’s Story  20. Briony’s Story  Part 4: Then and Now Stories  21. Kristen: Her Story in 2009 -1 Reflects  21.1 Kristen (Original Story in Mkib 1st Ed)  22. Alice – Cathy Reflects  22.1 Alice (Original Story in Mkib 1st Ed)  Part 5: What are Parents To Do  23. Important Strategies for Coping  24. Navigating the Search for Family-based Treatment  Afterword: Together We Thrive