CBT target towards ARFID patients primarily addresses anxiety surrounding eating and food, such as fears of choking, vomiting, sickness, etc. As such, CBT for ARFID is often exposure-based and has shown preliminary success in treating multiple presentations of the disorder.

Kalamazoo College

Multiple forms of psychological treatment exist for managing ARFID. The most well-researched fall into one of three forms of therapy which are each used to treat different presentations and severity levels of ARFID: 

- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Family-based therapy (FBT)
- Multi-modal approach 

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) Psychological Treatment

Bourne, L., Bryant-Waugh, R., Cook, J., & Mandy, W. (2020). Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder: A systematic scoping review of the current literature. Psychiatry Research, 288, 112961.

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: A Systematic Scoping Review of the Current Literature

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

FBT focuses on teaching family members of those with ARFID to best support their loved ones. This may include information on how to support loved ones suffering from the disorder, minimizing guilt among family members, and providing behavioral intervention at home. Both in-person and remote FBT education sessions have been found to be successful for family members of those with severe ARFID, as long as they do not require inpatient hospitalization.

Family-Based Therapy (FBT) for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

Multi-modal approaches to treating ARFID combine several psychotherapeutic intervention methods and emphasize collaboration between patients, family members, and treatment providers. This combined approached appears to show great success in treating severe cases of ARFID.

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