Different treatment centers have different methods. Talking about the patient's thoughts and feelings is paramount to beginning the process of recovery. If the problems are merely buried and not discussed, then they will surely resurface sooner or later. An eating disorder center typically has a team of therapists, nutritionists and specialist doctors on site. This way, both the physical and pyschological problems can be tackled at once.
Many programs aim to shift the patient's focus from food on to other more positive things.
Let's face it, if you think about food all the time then you're more likely to be affected by an eating disorder. Getting someone to feel positive about themself is a difficult task. Still, throughout all the pain and misery, have an eating disorder becomes a habit. And it is a hard one to break. Still, slowly but surely, most eating disorder programs aim to break that habit by shifting the emphasis away from food when it comes to coping with problems, and exploring other ways of dealing with life.