Indiana Eating Disorders Coalition

 

Press Release:  Attention All Treatment Providers!


December 6, 2007
 

The IEDC greatly appreciates the diligent and informed work of eating disorders treatment providers!  As a way of giving back just a little bit, we’ve put together a short list of things that you’ve done that have greatly helped eating disordered patients across the state of Indiana.  The IEDC includes many treatment providers as well as people who are in recovery, so this short list of helpful aspects of treatment comes directly from our collective experiences.

 

These are the strategies that eating disordered patients tell us are of the greatest benefit:

 

  • Unconditional acceptance and encouragement combined with non-confrontational compassionate therapy work best.  It is a nearly universal experience among eating disordered patients that coercion is unproductive (and in some cases even counter-productive).  This includes threats about potential punitive consequences of relapse.
     
  • Refraining from comments or feedback (good or bad) about appearance, weight, BMI, and other numbers is most helpful.  This includes reminding others involved with treatment (such as nurses, nutritionists, administrative staff, other patients, or family members) to let the doctor handle any necessary discussions about these issues.
     
  • Thanks for tossing the fashion magazines out of your offices and waiting areas J
     
  • Thanks also for encouraging abstinence from bathroom scales when appropriate.
     
  • Sensitivity regarding keeping a journal about food or other eating disordered behaviors is very helpful, some patients benefit from this and others find it very triggering.
     
  • Remember that it takes at least as long to recover as it took to become ill, things often move slowly and that’s OK.  Eating disordered behaviors are usually a way of coping.  Before they can be stopped, new coping strategies have to be learned.
     
  • Time may not heal all wounds, but it sure helps in recovering from an eating disorder.  Most people will fail if asked to “just stop all eating disordered behaviors.” Also, the “all or nothing” approach to recovery is not helpful, it sets people up to fail.
     
  • Plan ahead for life after in-patient or residential treatment.  Patients who do well in a residential or in-patient environment need to be prepared to do well in the “real world” too.


Thank you again to all the eating disorder treatment providers in Indiana (and beyond)!  For more information about the Indiana Eating Disorders Coalition (IEDC), please visit us on the web: http://www.iupui.edu/~philosop/iedc.htm, or send e-mail to Amy Kuehn at amster_71@comcast.net or Chris Kraatz at ckraatz@iupui.edu