Support for ARFID (Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)
If eating feels restricted, overwhelming, or stressful, you are not alone. ARFID is an eating difficulty that is not driven by concerns about weight or body image, but by factors such as sensory sensitivities, fear around eating, or a low interest in food.
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ARFID can affect children, young people, and adults, and often overlaps with neurodiversity, such as autism and ADHD. It can have a significant impact on health, daily routines, education, work, and family life, and is often difficult to understand without specialist support.
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We offer specialist, neurodiversity-informed ARFID support delivered online across the UK. Our approach is calm, respectful, and carefully paced, focusing on understanding what is driving eating difficulties and supporting meaningful progress without pressure or judgement.
What is ARFID?
ARFID stands for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. It is an eating difficulty where food intake becomes limited, not because of concerns about weight or body image, but due to factors such as sensory sensitivities, fear around eating, or a low interest in food.
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ARFID can look very different from one person to another. For some, eating is restricted to a small number of “safe” foods. For others, anxiety around choking, vomiting, or feeling unwell makes eating feel unsafe. Some people struggle to notice hunger or feel little interest in food at all.
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ARFID is not the same as “picky eating”, and it is not a choice. When left unsupported, it can affect physical health, energy levels, education, work, and family life. A careful assessment can help identify what is driving the difficulty and what kind of support is most likely to help.
If you are unsure whether this describes your own experience or your child’s, it can help to talk things through before deciding on next steps. Book a free call
How ARFID can affect daily life
Children and young people
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Eating only a very limited range of foods, often described as “safe foods”
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Strong reactions to the texture, smell, temperature, taste or appearance of food
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Fear of choking, vomiting, or feeling unwell after eating
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Anxiety around mealtimes, new foods, or eating outside the home
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Difficulties eating at school, parties, or social activities
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Becoming distressed or overwhelmed when routines around food change
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Overlap with autism, ADHD, or sensory processing differences
Adults
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Long-standing patterns of restrictive eating that are not linked to body image
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Avoidance of foods due to sensory discomfort or fear of physical reactions
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Little interest in food or difficulty noticing hunger and fullness cues
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Anxiety around eating with others, eating out, or unfamiliar situations
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Rigid routines around meals that feel hard to change
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Impact on energy levels, work, social life, or relationships
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Often recognising these difficulties later in life, sometimes after an autism or ADHD diagnosis
How we support people with ARFID
We support people with ARFID by taking the time to understand what is driving eating difficulties, rather than focusing on food alone. Our work is guided by collaboration, and respect for individual differences.
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If someone already has a clear diagnosis of ARFID, we focus on understanding how it is affecting them now and what kind of support is most likely to help. Where a diagnosis is unclear, or where there are overlapping factors such as sensory sensitivities, anxiety, or neurodiversity, a structured assessment may be recommended to clarify the picture before treatment begins.
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Our clinicians are experienced in working with ARFID across childhood, adolescence, and adulthood, and take a neurodiversity-informed approach throughout. Support is always tailored and carefully paced. We do not use pressure, rewards, or force. Instead, we focus on reducing distress, building understanding, and supporting meaningful change that fits into everyday life.
Our clinical approach to ARFID
Our ARFID work is informed by an understanding of how sensory processing, interoceptive awareness, anxiety, routines, and neurodiversity can interact with eating. Where assessment is recommended, this is guided by clinical need and used to clarify what is driving difficulties.
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Assessment and support may involve psychology, dietetics, and occupational therapy, depending on the individual. Occupational therapy input is particularly helpful where sensory sensitivities or regulation difficulties are affecting eating. Clear written recommendations can be provided where helpful, for example to support schools, universities, workplaces, or wider care planning.
These approaches are helpful because they focus on reducing distress rather than forcing change. By respecting sensory needs, supporting emotional regulation, and working at a pace that feels safe, people are more able to build flexibility around eating in a way that is sustainable and fits into everyday life.
Assessment and support may explore:
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Sensory processing patterns and sensitivities
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Interoceptive awareness, including hunger and fullness cues
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Anxiety, fear responses, and regulation
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Eating routines and environmental factors
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The impact of neurodiversity on daily life and eating
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Brief Strategic Therapy (BST) to gently reduce rigid avoidance patterns and fear-based control around eating
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Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for ARFID (CBT-AR) to support gradual, safe expansion of foods in a structured and collaborative way
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Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT)–informed strategies where emotional regulation, distress tolerance, or impulsive responses are affecting eating
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Strategic exposure to feared foods, introduced carefully and without pressure, to build tolerance over time
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Sensory profiling and environmental adaptations, often supported by occupational therapy, to reduce sensory overwhelm and make eating feel more manageable
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Anxiety management strategies to support flexibility around meals, routines, and unfamiliar situations
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Multidisciplinary working, with input from psychology, dietetics, occupational therapy, and medical professionals where appropriate
Starting support with us
Step 1: A free call
The first step is a short free call with a member of our team. This is a chance to talk things through, ask questions, and get a clearer sense of whether our services feel like the right fit.
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During the call, we can explain how support works, what options may be appropriate, and answer practical questions about availability and fees. No clinical decisions are made at this stage.
Step 2: Planning ongoing support
If it feels appropriate to go ahead, the next step is an initial online consultation with one of our Clinical Directors. This session focuses on understanding current concerns, any existing diagnoses, sensory or neurodiversity-related factors, and how eating difficulties are affecting day-to-day life.
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Where a diagnosis of ARFID is already clear, the consultation focuses on planning appropriate support. Where things are less clear, the clinician may recommend further assessment to help guide next steps.
Step 3: Agreed next steps
Following the initial consultation, recommendations are discussed collaboratively. This may include treatment or further assessment, depending on individual needs.
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Support is never rushed. Decisions are made together, with next steps guided by what feels proportionate, helpful, and manageable.
You don’t need to manage this alone
ARFID can affect far more than eating. It can place strain on daily routines, relationships, education, work, and emotional wellbeing, often over a long period of time. Many of our patients reach this point after trying to manage things on their own for a long while.
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Seeking support does not mean you have failed or that things need to move faster than feels comfortable. It simply creates space to understand what is happening and to think carefully about what might help.
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Whether you are supporting a child or young person, or struggling with eating yourself, you deserve care that is respectful, thoughtful, and paced around your needs.
Get support for ARFID
Whether you are seeking support for yourself or for a child or young person, we are here to help you think through the next steps at a pace that feels right. You do not need to have everything worked out before reaching out.
The free call is with a non-clinical team member and is a chance to ask questions about services, fees, and next steps.