Eating Disorder Hope Blog Update

To our dear Visitors and Friends:

We wish to thank you for your continued support and loyalty to Eating Disorder Hope.  Recently, we have made several changes to our websites and blogs, and as a result, we will no longer be posting to this particular blog.  We would like to re-direct you to our new blog, found here.  You can also follow Eating Disorder Hope on Facebook for up-to-date articles, resources, and support for eating disorders and access our website at www.eatingdisorderhope.com.  We thank you for your patience during this time and hope you will continue to choose Eating Disorder Hope for your one stop resource for eating disorder treatment information and recovery tools.  We look forward to continually serving you!  Thank you for being a friend of Eating Disorder Hope.

Blessings,

Eating Disorder Hope

Eating Disorders Do Not Discriminate

Eating disorders, as with any mental illness, does not discriminate-- old or young, male or female, child or adult, rich or poor. Stereotypically an eating disorder is associated with a white female in her teenage years; however, it is important to realize that anorexia, bulimia, binge eating and EDNOS can happen to anyone at any given time from any background. With advancements in technology it is becoming clear that the ‘Western ideal body type’ is spreading like wildfire across various countries along with the media featuring celebrities who have been photoshopped, touched-up and manipulated to an extreme. Julia Bluhmn, a 14 year old ballet dancer from Maine, recognized these altered images having a profound effect and was determined to fight for the promotion of health rather than a misconstrued image. With more than 84,000 signatures, Julia convinced Seventeen magazine to run at least one “unaltered” photo spread a month. This is a revolutionary movement for the history of Eating Disorders and recovery! Just as the unhealthy western archetype became a contagious thought among the populations of the world, I am hoping the actions of Seventeen will be a widespread practice. 

Hannah, Intern for Eating Disorder Hope

Eating Disorder Hope Blog Update

To our dear Visitors:

We wish to thank you for your continued support and loyalty to Eating Disorder Hope.  Presently, our blogs are temporarily under construction as we seek to improve, enhance, and develop greater resources.  During this time, blog posts will be kept to a minimum, but we excitedly look forward to offering you increased resources in the very near future.  In the meantime, please follow Eating Disorder Hope on Facebook for up-to-date articles, resources, and support for eating disorders or access our website at www.eatingdisorderhope.com.  We thank you for your patience during this time and hope you will continue to choose Eating Disorder Hope for your one stop resource for eating disorder treatment information and recovery tools.  We look forward to continually serving you!

Blessings,

Eating Disorder Hope

First Workshop on Telemedicine on Obesity, Overweight and Eating Disorders, Valencia, Spain

Are you interested in learning more about the use of technology-enhanced approaches in obesity and eating disorder treatment?  The First Workshop on Telemedicine on Obesity, Overweight and Eating Disorders will take place from 30 January to 4 February 2012 in Valencia, Spain.  In addition to the presentation of highlighted uses of technology-enhanced approaches for treatment in clinical psychology and medicine, new results and proposals will also be reported.  For further information on this event, please visit here.

Eating Disorders and Cultures in Transitions

Mervat Nasser
Melanie A. Katzman
Richard A. Gordon

In 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being', Tereza is staring at herself in the mirror. She wonders what would happen if her nose were to grow a millimeter longer each day. How much time would it take for her to become unrecognizable?

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Should we try to incorporate more cultural aspects into therapy?

Court Ruling Requires Insurer to Pay Cost of Residential Treatment for Eating Disorder

EDMONDS, Wash., Nov 29, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- In the wake of a federal court ruling this summer that a California woman's insurance company should pay for residential treatment that she received for anorexia nervosa, psychologist Dr. Gregory Jantz echoed the court's opinion that residential care can be medically necessary to treat severe eating disorders.

Dr. Jantz, a nationally renowned specialist in eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, said that round-the-clock care can be required for such disorders because treating them effectively involves constantly monitoring patients' food intake and retention.

"Even intensive outpatient programs for eating disorders don't allow the opportunities for observation and intervention that a residential setting affords to therapists, nutritionists and nurses," said Dr. Jantz, who founded and operates The Center for Counseling and Health Resources, a residential treatment center based in Edmonds, Wash. Dr. Jantz is also the author of many books, including the best-selling Hope, Help and Healing for Eating Disorders, and operates the eating disorders website Caring Online.

According to Jantz, the California case revolved around Jeanene Harlick, an anorexia sufferer who received lifesaving treatment several years ago at a residential facility in St. Louis. Harlick had battled anorexia for more than 20 years, and when her condition worsened in 2006 despite intensive outpatient therapy, she checked into the Castlewood Treatment Center. Staff at Castlewood had to use a feeding tube to sufficiently increase Harlick's caloric intake.

Jantz said that Harlick's insurance company, Blue Shield of California, refused to pay for her nine-month stay at Castlewood, likening it to assisted living care, which her policy did not cover. Harlick's lawyers argued that undergoing residential treatment for anorexia is more comparable to receiving care at a skilled nursing facility, something that was covered by her policy.

The case hinged on application of California's 1999 mental health parity law. Parity laws were passed by some states to require insurers to cover treatment of mental illnesses to the same extent that they cover medical care or surgical procedures for physical ailments and injuries. A federal mental health parity law was passed in 2008, and the Harlick ruling is expected to have repercussions throughout the health care and health insurance industries.

SOURCE: The Center for Counseling and Health Resources

                 The Center for Counseling and Health Resources          Ann McMurray, 888-771-5166          AnnM@aplaceofhope.com            

When eating is a disease

The hindu

Girls and young women are more prone to eating disorders, which result in major health issues

Soujanya is a pretty young girl and has just entered the third year of college. In the past two years, she has gone from being an overweight adolescent to an extremely thin, starved-looking girl.

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What cultural aspects of India could be a protective factor against ED's?