We are under-resourced when it comes to treating people with eating disorders in Northern Ireland but there is some help available, for sufferers and their carers, writes Roisin Armstrong
IF YOU have ever had any experience with eating disorders in Northern Ireland you will be very aware of how difficult it is to access help. In response to this two families, the Shaws and the McLarnons, both of whom had a daughter who suffered severely from an eating disorder, have set up a charity called Cared (Caring About Recovery from Eating Disorders) to try to offer support to families affected by this terrible condition.
One story is of Debbie, whose eating disorder began when she was 12. She kept it hidden for five years. When her family found out and began to seek treatment they found it was so sparse and inadequate that Debbie's health continued to decline.
Her parents, Pat and Paul McLarnon, recall this awful time for the family. "The eating disorder devastated our entire family. Our daughter's personality completely changed from an outgoing, bubbly girl to a withdrawn, fragile recluse who tried everything to hide her illness. We felt so helpless and powerless, watching as she hit the self-destruct button, and there was nothing available to help and support us in getting through it as a family. We felt completely alone," they said.
Fearing for their daughter's life, Debbie's parents sought treatment outside Northern Ireland. They managed to gain a place for her at the private Capio Nightingale Hospital in London, initially funding all of the treatment and travel costs themselves. Eventually their health trust here admitted they could not offer the level of care that Debbie required and agreed to fund her continued treatment in London, after four years of which Debbie made a full recovery. She has since qualified as a psychotherapist, and is a co-founder and the chairperson of Cared.
Unbelievably, more than 10 years later the Shaw family experienced virtually the same difficulties in accessing adequate treatment for their daughter Tori. Despite being hospitalised in Belfast for six months, Tori continued to lose weight and made no gain either physically or mentally. The Shaws knew the only way to save her life was to send her to a dedicated eatingdisorder hospital. Their research lead them to the New Maudsley in London, run by Professor Janet Treasure. Tori was transferred there and received the help she needed to start on the long road to recovery.
The 'New Maudsley method' has been supporting families for more than 20 years. It has been scientifically tested and is used in many countries. The aim of Cared is to offer for the first time this successful approach to affected families living in the north.
Cared brought one of the founders of the New Maudsley approach to Northern Ireland to train a group of facilitators who now deliver the skills-based programme to parents across the region on a monthly basis.
The primary aim of the New Maudsley method is to reduce stress and anxiety in parents/ carers but also to educate them on the psycho-social and biological impact of eating disorders, as well as teaching them skills they need to effectively manage their loved one with an eating disorder.
Since achieving charitable status last April, Cared has achieved its first goal, which was to successfully deliver the New Maudsley course in every county in Northern Ireland. Now its mission is: "To continue to raise our profile and let as many families as possible know we are here offering support, knowledge, and practical skills and empowering parents to help their loved one recover from an eating disorder".
The organisation says that currently when sufferers have been hospitalised they are treated to a safe level then discharged. However, "if they not supported with therapy, sufferers tend to lose their weight gain and end up back in hospital. We call this the revolving-door process".
To prevent this process Cared's long-time goal is to work towards having a dedicated day centre here, delivered by staff trained in eating disorders. Sufferers would receive individual, group and family therapy, programmes for anxiety skills, mindfulness, CBT, yoga, life skills, nutrition, expressive arts, anger management, meal planning and preparation, body image and complementary therapies. Help for those with an eating disorder is still abysmally underfunded. The first port of call must be your GP and then it is a matter of time to access the help provided through health trusts. A privately run facility, Life Therapies, opened this year in Belfast, staffed by a team of psychotherapists, counsellors, and complementary therapists and hosting two eating-disorder specialist therapists. See life-therapies.com or call 0770 6705 814 for more information.
* For further information on Cared, call 0799 9901 936 or to book a course (which costs just £25) see caredni.org and click on the link 'Course'. r.armstrong@irishnews.com