Assessment of Eating Disorders

Practitioners have come under increasing pressure to provide objective data on assessment and treatment outcome of clients. This article provides a brief summary of assessment of eating disorders for the practicing clinician, with an emphasis on well-validated assessment instruments. The critical domains that should be covered in a thorough assessment of eating disorders are reviewed, as are some shortcomings in the current assessment literature, and also discussed is which assessment instruments for the eating disordersare most useful in a clinical context. Using well-validated, standardized assessment instruments in all phases of the treatment process is a critical part of justifying a treatment plan and providing objective data on client progress and outcome.