Eating Disorder Specialists

Therapy Partners are experts in this field and offer a family focused, whole-system, specialist and evidence-based support approach for young people who are struggling with an eating disorder. We also train school pupils and personnel, youth workers and frontline clinicians in awareness and intervention. We go beyond the reach of existing and traditional provision by providing early support and early intervention that protects the emotional health and mental wellbeing of young people with an addictive and self-destructive problem.

Over the course of 2016 and 2017 Therapy Partners were commissioned by The NHS to deliver a pilot program, developing a whole-system approach to support children and young people with eating disorders. This whole-system approach was also to include families, support networks and professionals whilst promoting and protecting the emotional wellbeing of the children and young people in treatment.

96% of those treated either recovered, improved, or maintained their status.

Therapy Partners aim to have a turnaround of around 7 days from referral to assessment compared to the wait time of 2 to 18 months on the NHS.

Eating Disorders are a serious mental illness and have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness claiming precious, promising lives every year. Families get overwhelmed, desperate, and broken by the challenge of beating an eating disorder.

Eating disorders remain complex, costly, and challenging illnesses to treat. A unique feature of an eating disorder is that the person affected may truly and genuinely believe there is nothing wrong with them.

 

Early intervention is vital!

 

Our services include:

  • 1:1 support sessions with a young person
  • Family support sessions that include parents/carers, siblings and/or grandparents
  • Assembly talks and pupil workshops in schools
  • Training sessions for teachers/parents/carers/sector professionals and charity personnel
  • Peer to peer support training sessions so that young people can learn now to help each other and so that families can buddy up with each other.
  • Educational videos created by beneficiaries that deal with challenges and how to overcome them, such as exam stress or eating in public.

Our skills and experience:

  • Our experienced team of associates comprises: an integrative/systemic family therapist, a relationship counsellor, a clinical psychologist, a management/social work/therapy consultant, a nutritionist, a psychotherapist, a style coach, an art psychotherapist, a life coach/NLP practitioner, a cognitive behaviour psychotherapist, an addiction therapist, a humanistic therapist, a humanistic counsellor, and CBT/CBT-E counsellors.
  • All therapists have trained in the New Maudsley Method (caring for a loved one with an eating disorder). They receive extensive training on outcomes, outcome tools/measure, and evaluation data, and have regular ongoing clinical supervision and continued professional development training (CPD).
Families play a huge role in managing the eating Disorders and whenever possible they should be included and informed about how to help. Evidence has shown that families are the solution and not the problem. The burden on care givers needs to be considered particularly as they are now expected to contribute to symptom management in the early phase of the illness. Helping the carer to understand and cope with the illness is essential and to this ends we suggest a multifaceted approach to supporting the whole family system to enhance recovery.

What Causes Eating disorders:

• Worry or stress may lead to comfort eating.
• Dieting and missing meals lead to craving for food, loss of control and over-eating.
• Extreme dieting after an upsetting event, such as family break-down, death or separation in the family, bullying at school or abuse.
• Anorexia and bulimia may be a way of trying to feel in control if life feels stressful.
• More ordinary events, such as the loss of a friend, a teasing remark or school exams, may also be the trigger in a vulnerable person.

Behaviours a loved one can look out for:

• rapid weight loss
• isolation
• preoccupation with weight/body image
• restricting their diet
• binge eating
• purging (being sick)
• secretive behaviour surrounding food.
• excessive exercising

Contact Therapy Partners

If you would like to discuss our services, training and solutions, then please get in contact with us.

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For more information or to book an initial assessment

Fill out our Online initial contact form or contact us today on 0845 527 4809 and let us help you be the best that you can be.