It’s Time To Dispel Some Common Myths About F.E.A.S.T.

Here are some common myths that we hear all of the time:

Myth: F.E.A.S.T. is only for families who use Family Based Treatment (FBT)

Truth: Some people think that F.E.A.S.T. is only for families who use Family Based Treatment (FBT). We’re not! F.E.A.S.T. believes in and advocates for evidence-based treatment. FBT is the leading evidence-based eating disorders treatment for adolescents with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Many of the parents in our community do use FBT, but there are also plenty of parents who don’t. There are parents whose children are in residential treatment, parents whose children are treated with other methods, and parents who have no access to FBT. F.E.A.S.T. is all about educating, empowering, and supporting families, regardless of what treatment their loved one is receiving.

Myth: F.E.A.S.T. is only for families of those who are newly diagnosed

Truth: Some people think that F.E.A.S.T. is only for new parents. That’s incorrect! F.E.A.S.T. has a lot to offer all parents, regardless of where they are in their journey. There is always something new to learn, and all families need support, even those who have been dealing with their child’s eating disorder for a long time.

Myth: F.E.A.S.T. is only for families of people with anorexia

Truth: Some people think that F.E.A.S.T. only has resources to help parents of people with anorexia nervosa. That’s false! We have resources that can help parents of people with all eating disorder diagnoses. And our support services and our FIRST30Days program are perfectly suited for parents of people with all eating disorders diagnoses as well.

Myth: F.E.A.S.T. is just for mothers

Truth: Some people think that F.E.A.S.T. is just for mothers. Nope, not true! F.E.A.S.T. has plenty of dads and other male caregivers; in fact, we are starting a group called “Men of F.E.A.S.T.” at the end of March.

Myth: F.E.A.S.T is an American organization (AKA organisation)

Truth: F.E.A.S.T is a global organization. Of the 5 people on our Board of Directors, two are from the UK, one is from New Zealand, one is from the US, and one is from Israel. The one from Israel is F.E.A.S.T.’s Executive Director. Our volunteers are from a multitude of countries and speak many different languages. Our culture is F.E.A.S.T. It’s not specific to any individual country.

Myth: F.E.A.S.T. is well funded

Truth: It’s to our credit that we seem to be well funded. We are perceived as a large organization, because we have an impressive presence and a significant impact. In reality, we are a small organization with a very big vision, and that vision requires funds to actualize it. We help thousands of families out there in the world at large, and we do so through donations from members of our community. If you would like to donate, we could really use the financial assistance.

This seems to be a good time to point out that we do not accept donations from residential treatment centers or other for-profit enterprises in the eating disorders arena. We feel that doing so would compromise the integrity of F.E.A.S.T. and create bias toward those who would fund us. It’s a principle thing, and it means that we are not capturing a lot of funding that other organizations are. This is why we especially need funding from within our own community.

Myth: F.E.A.S.T. is just a parent forum or a Facebook peer support group

Truth: F.E.A.S.T. is a robust organization with many services to offer parents of people with eating disorders. Take a quick look at our website and see for yourself!!

Myth: F.E.A.S.T. is only for parents of children, teens and young adults

Truth: There are F.E.A.S.T. parents whose “children” are older adults, and they are active members of our organization.

Ultimate truth: F.E.A.S.T. is about helping parents–all parents–all over the world. We hope that you don’t need us; but if you do, we’re here for you.