Eating Disorders Program
Our mission
The mission of the Boston Children's Hospital Outpatient Eating Disorders Program is to provide high quality, interdisciplinary, comprehensive care to youth and their families who are struggling with eating disorders.
Our history 
Since the 1980s, the Division of Adolescent Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital has been working to address the growing incidence of eating disorders in teens and adolescents.
The program began under the leadership of Robert Masland, MD, the former chief of Adolescent Medicine at Boston Children’s. Over the years, through the direction of Eugene Piazza, MD, Alexandra Elliott, MS, PhD, LICSW, and Sara F. Forman, MD, (pictured above) we have grown into a multidisciplinary program with medical, mental health and nutrition providers. Every year, the program offers support and hope to hundreds of adolescents battling eating disorders.
Our services
The Eating Disorders Program provides a wide range of comprehensive services for patients and physicians:
Outpatient services
- Consultation
- Medical evaluation (comprehensive physical exam, laboratory testing)
- Medical treatment (nutritional rehabilitation, counseling, medication, hormonal therapies)
- Mental health consultation
- Nutrition evaluation and counseling
- Psychiatric evaluation
Inpatient services
In addition to all the services listed above, we also provide inpatient medical care for adolescents struggling with eating disorders. Specialist nurses, registered dietitians and psychiatrists all work together to help adolescents hospitalized because of an uncontrolled eating disorder.
Our collaborations
The staff in our program will work hand in hand with your primary care doctor and, when appropriate, make referrals to providers with expertise in treating eating disorders in your own community.
We can also provide guidance to many providers in the northeastern United States and beyond. Specialists from the Eating Disorders Program and other members of the Division of Adolescent Medicine have helped develop inpatient clinical guidelines for children who are admitted to the hospital for eating disorder-related medical needs.
Our providers also consulted with the National Eating Disorders Screening Project. They have advocated for insurance coverage for eating disorders at the Massachusetts Statehouse and give frequent presentations on eating disorders throughout New England.
Our locations
Appointments are available in Boston at the hospital’s main campus, as well as at our Lexington satellite site and our locations in Peabody, Waltham and Weymouth.
