Specialist Eating Disorder Clinic in Birmingham

If you or your child are finding eating, food or body image difficult to manage, it's understandable to want clear answers and the right support, especially if you're not yet sure where that support should come from.

Eating disorders can affect both mental and physical health as well as daily life, and they rarely have a single cause, but with the right support, ED recovery is possible. 

Our multidisciplinary eating disorder clinic brings together consultant phsychiatrists, psychological therapists and a specialist dietitian, offering a holistic approach to treating disordered eating. We can provide provide personalised assessment, treatment and ongoing support for anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder and co-occuring mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression and OCD. 

Do I Need an Appointment?

Our service is for adults, children and young people who are struggling with eating, and for parents and carers who are concerned about a child.

The eating disorder clinic may be a good next step if you recognise any of the following:

• Restrictive eating, or eating a narrow range of foods
• Binge eating or eating that feels out of control
• Purging, or other behaviours used to compensate for eating
• Significant anxiety around food, weight, or body image
• Avoidant or selective eating that may be linked to ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)
• Eating difficulties alongside anxiety, depression, OCD, autism, ADHD or a history of trauma

After an initial conversation, our team can help you access the parts of our service that suit your situation best, starting with a consultant psychiatrist, our dietitian, or a therapist.

Important Safety Information

If you or your child are experiencing severe physical symptoms linked to eating, such as significant weight loss, fainting, chest pain, or severe weakness, or if you are having thoughts of harming yourself, please seek urgent medical help straight away by calling 999, attending A&E, or contacting your GP. This service is not designed to provide emergency or crisis care.

What Is An Eating Disorder?

Like most mental health conditions, eating disorders do not discriminate. No matter your age or gender, you can develop an eating disorder. Generally, they are characterised by disordered actions and thoughts, which manifest in the individual controlling their food intake as a coping mechanism. This may be to deal with their feelings and emotions, or other circumstances in their life that they feel they cannot control, which results in unhealthy habits, such as obsessing over body shape or weight and eating too much or too little.

Common Eating Disorders We Can Help Diagnose And Treat

Our specialised team aims to diagnose and treat a wide range of eating disorders. Between our specialist dietitians, mental health professionals and GPs, we provide education on nutrition and diets, psychological therapy and treatments for health problems that arise as a result of disordered eating. Conditions we treat include:

• Anorexia: Also referred to as anorexia nervosa, anorexia is an eating disorder that is characterised by restricting food, over-exercising, or doing both to control your weight. This results in unusually low body weight and can have serious consequences for the individual.
• Bulimia: This is characterised by phases of binge eating and then taking extreme measures to not put on weight, such as making yourself ill or using laxatives.
• Binge eating disorder (BED): People with BED eat large amounts of food in a short period until they feel uncomfortably full. The key difference between Bulimia and BED is that people with BED rarely follow this up by purging food.
• Other specified feeding and eating disorders (OFSED): A person’s symptoms may not always match the expected symptoms for specific eating disorders. In such cases, they may have an OSFED. Generally, people with an OSFED will try to hide their condition and any physical symptoms. OSFED can be characterised by any of the symptoms associated with anorexia, bulimia or BED. As such, it can have a similar effect on a person’s physical and mental health and therefore it is important to seek treatment at the earliest opportunity.

A Multidisciplinary Approach to Eating Disorders

Our eating disorder service covers the diagnosis and treatment of anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder (BED), other specified feeding and eating disorders (OSFED), and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).

There is no single treatment pathway that suits everyone with an eating disorder. We build care around you rather than asking you to fit a standard programme. You’ll be assessed holistically, as a whole person, rather than focusing only on food, weight or eating behaviours, with input from consultants in mental health, dieticians and GPs.

Our Approach To Treatment

We want to give you the best chance at recovery. That is why we provide you with a completely holistic treatment plan that addresses your nutritional and emotional needs. At the outset, we get to know you and your eating history. Your initial consultation will provide you with the opportunity to discuss your difficulties with a highly qualified professional.

Following this, we will develop a treatment plan that is tailored to your individual needs - whether that be appointments with our dietitian for specialist advice and guidance or therapy sessions with a mental health professional.

Getting The Treatment You Need

We are proud to make treatment for eating disorders as accessible as possible. There is no need to get a referral from a GP or healthcare professional. Simply get in touch with our friendly team to book an appointment with one of our experts.

Our Multidisciplinary Eating Disorder Team

Our eating disorder specialists are highly qualified and experienced professionals from a range of disciplines associated with disordered eating conditions.

Additional Psychiatric Support for Eating Disorders

We understand that eating problems often develop as a side effect of major life changes. While the root cause may not be obvious, therapy sessions can help you to unravel the possible triggers of your eating disorder. These sessions also allow you to talk through any issues that you feel are making your disorder more difficult to manage. By working with our trained integrative therapist, Hema Patel, you can explore other aspects of yourself which are possibly being masked by the eating disorder, allowing your body to heal from the inside.

Some examples of triggers include but are not limited to:

• starting puberty
• experiencing a traumatic event
• changing school or university
• wanting to start a new health regime 
• loss of a loved one
• starting a new job
• breakdown of relationships 
• loss of self-esteem
• exploring your sexuality
• leaving home or moving to a new place

Any investigations or treatment recommendations made during your consultation may involve additional costs, which will be discussed with you clearly before anything is arranged.

We are also recognised by a number of major health insurers. If you intend to use private medical insurance, please contact us ahead of your appointment to confirm your cover.

Is This the Right Service for You?

If you recognise some of these difficulties, in yourself or in your child, an eating disorder assessment with our team is a reasonable next step, even if you are not certain what is causing them.

You do not need a formal diagnosis before booking. Part of what an assessment offers is helping you understand what is happening and what kind of support may help.

If your main concern is a broader mental health assessment rather than difficulties with eating specifically, it's worth mentioning this when you get in touch, so our team can point you towards the most appropriate service.

Why Choose Us?

Eating disorders can manifest into serious health issues. That is why it is crucial to seek the guidance and expertise of an experienced team at the earliest opportunity. We can arrange specialist appointments with eating disorder experts when you need them. You can get an appointment within a matter of days. 

Our patients receive comprehensive treatments when they need them. That is why our Birmingham clinic provides:

• Exceptional, individualised patient care
• Consultations with specialists at short notice
• Care for children, young people and adults
• Support for parents and families
• Coordinated care with all professionals involved
• No waiting lists or need for GP referrals
• State-of-the-art medical facilities

Visit Our Clinic

If you are based in Birmingham or the surrounding areas, you can visit our exceptional Birmingham clinic in Edgbaston, just outside of Birmingham City Centre. You can come and see our specialists on Francis Road, just off the A456. Alternatively, if you are travelling by public transport, our clinic is only a short walk from Five Ways train station.

Next Steps & Booking

If you or your child are experiencing difficulties with eating, or significant anxiety around food, weight or body image, our team can help you work out the most treatment plan to support both physical and mental health.

Contact us today to arrange a consultation with our eating disorder specialists, or fill in our enquiry form.

Are you looking for a professional eating disorder service near you? Contact us today to arrange a consultation with our highly-qualified eating disorder dietitians. Alternatively, you can submit an enquiry form below. Our consultants will be happy to see you at our Birmingham clinic at their earliest availability. 

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