Family therapy can also be very helpful in educating the family about the child's disorder and how to ensure the patient's compliance with treatment recommendations. An individual's prognosis for recovery from an eating disorder is increased if the person does not binge or purge and they have only had the disorder for less than 6 months. A good support system is essential to quick recovery. Group therapy is not only an appropriate modality, but often a chosen modality for its cost-savings as well as its powerful effects. In groups specifically devoted to issues of eating disorders, a patient can gain not only support for the gradual gains they accomplish, but also be confronted on issues more easily than in individual therapy.
Some medications can be extremely helpful in treatment a person who suffers from bulimia.
As always, the medication should be carefully monitored, especially since the patient may be vomiting or taking large amounts of laxatives, which may impact on the medication's use and effectiveness. A trusting and honest relationship must be established between the physician and the individual or mediation compliance will almost certainly become an issue. Phenytoin and carbamazepine may also help reduce the frequency of the binging behaviors. Individuals find they can bounce ideas off of one another, get objective feedback about body image, and just gain increased social support. Many support groups exist within communities throughout the world which are devoted to helping individuals with this disorder share their commons experiences and feelings.