F.E.A.S.T. from the Inside
Laura Collins, Executive Director
Let’s see: London, Washington DC, Salzburg, Brooklyn, and Philadelphia are my travel destinations for the year. That’s quite a way to enter the decade!
My trip to London to attend beat’s Eating Disorders International Conference was a joy. The opportunity to hug my friend, Fiona Bromelow, for the first time since we “met” in 2002 was a high point. Making a pilgrimage to THE Maudsley Hospital was another. You can read the F.E.A.S.T. report on our website and my personal conference report on my blog.
As an international organization, we are interested in parent experiences from our members’ countries and health systems. Although I had a fair intellectual grasp of the issues in the UK before I went there it was only with the opportunity to meet individual parents and professionals there that I grasped many complexities and nuance I had been missing. There are myths in the US and other myths in the UK about this illness and it is easy to be fighting one mistaken notion and without knowing it encouraging another. One example is the emphasis in the US on psychotherapy while in the UK the first line of treatment is from medical professionals. When I go on a rant about poor therapy in the US I have to be mindful that families might like to have any. When I call for parents to stand up for better care I have to consider the complexities of a National Health System.
Back in the office, fielding media calls and talking to families new to the diagnosis, I have lately been struck by the impossibility of understanding anything interesting without the time to observe it from many sides. Eating disorders cannot be explained or understood in one go – no matter how well explained. There are too many assumptions to be overturned and too much new information to be assimilated. It is easy to throw a lot of “correct” information out there but not be heard.
I’m not that patient a person – I want improvement for families right NOW – but I am seeing how the slow spread of better information is improving the situation for families. Fewer myths to get rid of, more authoritative sources to refer parents to, and a stronger parent community that can offer hope through their stories and experiences. Eating disorders will always be complex but I’m optimistic that the learning curve can be softened a bit.
Executive Director’s Recent Activities
- Attended the EDIC conference in London where she co-presented with F.E.A.S.T. Board member, Fiona Bromelow on the topic of “International Internet Parent Activism”
- Interviewed by AOL's ParentDish.com, CNN, Good Morning America, Laura Ingraham radio show, Dom Giordano show on CBS radio, ABC News, and HealthyPlace TV.
- Corresponded with a member of Michelle Obama’s staff who delivered a letter to the First Lady discussing the dangers of “anti-obesity” language
- Half-day exhibitor at local school giving out F.E.A.S.T. information
- Completed a year as advisor for an American high school student doing a senior project on eating disorders
- Collaborated on EDANN documents
- Nominated for “Influential Women of Virginia 2010” award
- Invited to be Team Leader for Virginia during the Eating Disorders Coalition Lobby Day
- Attended NIMH conference call with our Board Chair, Chris Berka
- Two meetings with treatment provider clinics to discuss issues with parents and parent information
- Published piece in EmpowerHer, as guest
- Offered a one-year blog contract with HealthyPlace.com website
- Held F.E.A.S.T. quarterly meeting
- Invited by Judith Banker to make presentation at Renfrew Conference in November
News from our Our Advisors
- Stephanie Milstein & Carrie Arnold will present at the 2010 NEDA Conference 10/8-10/10 in New York on "Relapse Prevention Planning: A Family Centered Approach" in the Family Basic Track. Additionally, they are both contributing authors for the textbook "Opening the Door on Eating Disorders" that is co-edited by June Alexander and Janet Treasure.
- Judith Banker and Laura Collins will present a 3-hour seminar on the principles of Family-Based Maudsley therapy at the Renfrew Conference in Philadelphia in November.
- In April 2010 Dr. Tomas Silber held a workshop on Death of Adolescents at the Annual Meeting of the society for Adolescent medicine and health in Toronto. At the same meting he chaired the Ethics and Legal Interest group and discussed treatment of patients with Anorexia nervosa against their will.
- Cynthia Bulik reports that the UNC Eating Disorders Program recently began teaming up with fathers in the prevention of eating problems. DADS (Dads and Daughters Study) is a two-session, online program to educate fathers about disordered eating, media pressures, perfectionism, and communication. See www.dads.unc.edu.
- Jenni Schaefer appeared on the Dr. Phil show to talk about the importance of families in recovery.
News from our Board and volunteers
- Jennifer Whisman represented F.E.A.S.T. at a statewide positive behavior support conference on April 14 and 15 by developing and staffing a display board.
- Fiona Bromelow attended the EDIC conferences in London in March, giving a brief shared presentation, and then the local one day B-eat conference in Bristol less than a fortnight later. She also represented parents on the interview panel for posts for an expanded local eating disorders team, took part in training for the b-eat quality assurance programme for eating disorders services and in discussion of new b-eat services for carers.
- Catherine L. from our Parent Advisors gave a presentation to local public school nurses on eating disorders including a personal story of overcoming an eating disorder, updates on recent research, information on family-based therapy as well as a resource list that included Maudsley Parents and F.E.A.S.T.
- Therese Waterhous represented F.E.A.S.T. and gave a talk on adapted Family-Based Maudsley therapy at the recent SCAN (Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition) conference in San Diego.
- Lydia Spottswood succeeded in getting a Wikipedia page for F.E.A.S.T. and having it included in eating disorders organizations listed on that site. Upon her request, the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health (MedlinePlus) added the F.E.A.S.T. Eating Disorders Glossary to their list of reference tools.
Board Member Spotlight:
Carolin Gray
- Contributed to a 10 minute online video for ISIS of our experience with ED's and FBT .
- Completed an 90 min interview/film for the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for online nursing education.
- Attended the 2009 ANZAED conference in Brisbane.
- Attended and contributed to discussions on appropriate reading material for resources for the EDANN collaboration work. Attended the workshop in Canberra. Accepted an invitation to contribute to the next round (3 year period - commencing 2010).
- Attended and spoke at the official opening of the Children's Hospital at Westmead "Butterfly Wing" (A unit allowing rural parents to engage in FBT)
- Contributed to the Mental Health First Aid Guidelines for Eating Disorders (online)
- Spoke about FBT and our experience at a local parent support group in April.
- Spoke at a parent support group run by the EDR in Brisbane.
- Attended June Alexander’s launch of MKIB in Brisbane and contributed to the forum and discussion.
- Contributed to June's next book.
Special thanks to:
- Susan Ringwood for her warm welcome and hospitality to F.E.A.S.T. board members at the EDIC conference
- Therese Waterhous for being lead Moderator of the Around the Dinner Table forum during Laura Collins’ trip to EDIC
- Kirk and Erica for html help
- Bingham’s Web Specialist, Jill A. St. Cyr, for website advice
Position Statement on DSM
The F.E.A.S.T. Board of Directors has unanimously voted to support the recommendations of the Workgroup for Classification of Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents (WCEDCA) for proposed revisions to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Our statement.
HONcode
F.E.A.S.T. was recently awarded HONcode status by The Health On the Net Foundation. HON “promotes and guides the deployment of useful and reliable online health information, and its appropriate and efficient use. Created in 1995, HON is a non-profit, non-governmental organization, accredited to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.”
Google Grant
Google awarded F.E.A.S.T. a $325/day donation of advertising on its site. When certain keywords are used in Google a link for F.E.A.S.T. appears on the right, along with paid advertisers. This grant program is only for nonprofits and required a competitive application process and took 9 months to achieve. We look forward to this grant’s ability to help us reach and help families around the world.
Around the Dinner Table update
Visitors to the ATDT forum remain steady at about 4,500 individual visitors a month.
The ATDT Forum community recently said goodbye to a longtime and highly valued moderator, “Maria.” Although she will be missed, F.E.A.S.T. congratulates and thanks Maria for her service to the parent community and celebrates her graduation to other responsibilities. We are glad to keep Maria on as a valued volunteer. With Maria’s parting we also retire the Spanish language forum, with hopes that we will re-visit it if there is sufficient interest from the parent community.
In an unrelated but welcomed addition to our “Mod Squad,” we welcome a new moderator, Mamame. Her energy and skills at finding information are already legendary, as is her sense of humor!
A project to update the FAQ pages is under way.
Membership
This newsletter now goes out to our 491 member families, clinicians, patients, and organizations from 14 countries including 10 Founding Members and 49 Supporting Members. Thank you for your support!
The opportunity to become a Founding Member of F.E.A.S.T. ends on April 30. This special chance to be part of the beginning of this organization runs out soon. Contribute $1000 or more and be on our permanent list of Founders! Click for a list of our Founding and Supporting Members and information on membership.
We do not take advertising or sponsorships, and we only accept contributions from individuals. By remaining independent from funding sources in the eating disorder treatment world we hope to retain our objectivity and the trust of the parent community.
Volunteer Help Wanted
F.E.A.S.T. is completely volunteer-staffed. We welcome your help! Please see our volunteer page for a list of our current needs. Top of our wish list: a web designer and programmer.
Upcoming F.E.A.S.T. Activities:
Donations Needed
Donating to F.E.A.S.T. is a great way to help other families, and we promise we use your donations frugally. The forum, serving hundreds of families 24/7, costs only $20-40 (US) a month. Having an exhibit table at an eating disorder conference can cost $1200(US) a year. Our services and advocacy are free to all, and funded donation by donation by families like yours. Do we need you? YES.
Good news: donations are tax deductible in the U.S. in accordance with Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3).
THANK YOU FOR BEING A MEMBER OF F.E.A.S.T.!
F.E.A.S.T. (Families Empowered and Supporting Treatment of Eating Disorders)
P.O. Box 331, Warrenton VA 20188, US
+1 (540) 227-8518
www.FEAST-ED.org