EPHRAT LIPTON, ACSW, LCSW, BCD, CEDS

MANAGING & FOUNDING PARTNER

Ephrat L. Lipton, ACSW, LCSW, BCD, CEDS, is a board certified therapist and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, as well as a Certified Enneagram Applications Professional. For over 30 years, Ephrat has worked with individuals, couples and families to address mental and behavioral health conditions, including mood, anxiety and eating disorders. She has served in two acute care inpatient facilities, which included the role of clinical director for 10 years, as well as in partial and intensive outpatient programs for eating disorders, depression, anxiety disorders and co-occurring disorders.

EATING DISORDER SPECIALTY

Ephrat has also been owner of a private practice specializing in eating disorders since 1996. In June 2017, she co-founded Atlanta Center for Wellness — a collaborative, integrative, mental health outpatient practice. She works with a treatment team of psychiatrists, eating disorder specialty pediatricians, registered dietitians and other psychotherapists specializing in mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, trauma and life transitions. Ephrat has presented for many conferences and schools, and for multiple organizations on the topics of eating disorders, family therapy and codependency.

Ephrat also maintains collaborative relationships with many providers, physicians and treatment centers in the metro Atlanta area, as well as nationwide. She has facilitated an eating disorder family support group (FED^®) for over 20 years, and believes family involvement, support and education are crucial to successful treatment outcomes.

FAMILY-BASED TREATMENT (FBT)

Family-based treatment (FBT), sometimes known as the Maudsley Approach, is a gold standard, evidence-based treatment for adolescents and young adults with eating disorders, especially anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Unlike traditional, individual therapy models, FBT actively empowers parents and caregivers to play a central role in their child’s recovery.

At Atlanta Center for Wellness, we use FBT to support families, interrupt the eating disorder, restore physical health, and gradually return control over eating back to the adolescent or young adult in a developmentally appropriate way. The eating disorder is treated as the problem, not the child, and the family is viewed as the most powerful resource for recovery, not the cause of the illness.

FBT typically unfolds in three phases:

Phase 1: Weight restoration and symptom interruption

Parents take an active, supportive role in ensuring their child is eating adequately and safely, with the therapist guiding and coaching the process.

Phase 2: Gradual return of control to the adolescent/young adult

As eating disorder behaviors decrease and medical stability improves, control over eating is slowly and thoughtfully handed back to the loved one.

Phase 3: Supporting healthy development

Treatment shifts toward strengthening identity, independence, and resilience, while reinforcing a healthy relationship with food and body.

FBT is practical, structured, and deeply compassionate. It does not focus on blame or cause, and it does not assume family dysfunction. Instead, it recognizes that eating disorders take hold of the individual, and that recovery is strongest and most sustainable when families are supported and guided by an experienced clinical team.

Our clinicians at Atlanta Center for Wellness tailor FBT to each family‘s unique needs, helping parents feel confident, grounded, and effective while their child moves toward full recovery and a return to normal life.

OTHER SPECIALTY POPULATIONS

Ephrat has expertise in treating people of all ages, both inside and outside of the eating disorder community. She has extensive experience in working with mood and anxiety disorders, gender-identity issues, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), LGBTQIA+ issues, social anxiety, trauma, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), Failure to Launch Syndrome, Severe and Enduring Eating Disorders (SEED), and grief (including suicide loss).

FAMILY AND COUPLES WORK

Ephrat has developed a sub-specialty in family and relationship therapy, with specialized training in Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for couples, families and individuals. This is an attachment-based model with the goal of reestablishing more secure relationships and family patterns, where attachment and caregiving responses are effective and emotional bonds are repaired.

Ephrat has treated hundreds of couples and families over the years by helping them to navigate:

Blended family dynamics
Reconciliation of estranged family relationships
Adult child/parent/family of origin conflict
Conflict with in-law families and adult children
Eating disorders, addiction and mental illness in the relationship or family system
Healthy boundary-setting and communication skills
Interpersonal relationship skills and intimacy building
Relational work of all kinds

Ephrat holds the belief that couple and family connection, psychoeducation and understanding are integral to physical, emotional, mental and spiritual wellness. She is especially honored to be trusted to do this important work with couples and family systems that are experiencing the challenges of life and are in need of non-judgmental, calming and directive guidance.

HEAL THE HEALER

Therapists and other clinicians can find themselves in need of their own support at times. About 10 percent of Ephrat’s practice consists of therapists who come to her for individual, family, and couples therapy, as well as consultation regarding their own therapy clients and also business consultation for those who are building and growing solo or group private practices. Ephrat is sensitive to some of the unique aspects of therapists seeking their own services. It is one of her great joys to mentor and support other clinicians in their personal and professional journeys.

SERVICES PROVIDED

Ephrat offers therapeutic services for individuals, couples and families. She meets with a wide range of clients from every age and stage of life, including tweens, adolescents and adults. Additionally, she facilitates various process and support groups. Her services include:

Individual psychotherapy
Group psychotherapy
Family/conjoint/couples therapy
FBT (Family-Based Treatment) coaching for eating disorders
Psychoeducation
Assessment, diagnosis, treatment contracts & treatment planning
- Includes referrals for higher levels of care and coordinating an aftercare plan upon the individual's return home
FED (Family & Friends of those with Eating Disorders) - A FREE community support group for family members and friends whose loved one struggles with, or is in recovery from, an eating disorder and related disorders.
- Group meets weekly and is open to the community.
- Click Here for FED Group Zoom Guidelines.

EDUCATION, LICENSURE & CERTIFICATION

B.A. Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, 1992
M.S.W. Clinical Social Work, The University of Georgia, 1996
Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW), 1999
Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS)
Academy of Certified Social Workers
Board Certified Clinical Social Worker
Certified Enneagram Practitioner
EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy) externship and core skills completed

EPHRAT LIPTON