Stage 1: Denial
Stage 2: Fear, Ignorance, and Panic
1. Why can't he/she just stop?
2. What kind of treatment should he/she have?
3. The measure of recovery is behavior change, isn't it?
4. How do I respond to her behaviors?
Stage 3: Increasing realization of the psychological basis for the eating disorder
1. Family members question their role in the development of the eating disorder
2. There is increased understanding that the process of recovery takes time and that there is no quick fix
3. Parents/Spouses are increasingly involved in therapy
4. Appropriate responses to the food- and weight- related behavior are learned
Stage 4: Impatience/despair
1. Progress seem too slow
2. The focus shifts from trying to change or control the person with the eating disorder to working on oneself.
3. Parents/Spouses need support
4. Anger/detachment is felt
5. Parents/Spouses let go
Stage 5: Hope
1. Signs of progress are noticed in the person with the eating disorder and oneself
2. It becomes possible to develop a healthier relationship with the person with the eating disorder
Stage 6: Acceptance/Peace
Source: K. Kim Lampson Reiff, rev. 1991