Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders Cognitive-
behavioral therapy is an active type of counseling. Sessions
usually are held once a week for as long as you need to master
new skills. Individual sessions last 1 hour, and group sessions
may be longer. During cognitive-behavioral therapy for eating
disorders, you learn: - About your illness, its symptoms, and
how to predict when symptoms will most likely recur. - To keep a
diary of eating episodes, binge eating, purging, and the events
that may have triggered these episodes. - To eat more regularly,
with meals or snacks spaced no more than 3 or 4 hours apart. -
How to change the way you think about your symptoms. This
reduces the power the symptoms have over you. - How to change
self-defeating thought patterns into patterns that are more
helpful. This improves mood and your sense of mastery over your
life. This helps you avoid future episodes. - Ways to handle
daily problems differently. What To Expect After Treatment You
can use your cognitive-beha