Hello and welcome to "Treatment Notes", the blog for professionals who wish to learn more about treating eating disorders. In my many years of speaking with other treatment providers about my work with eating disorders, when it comes those who are not eating disorders specialists, the response that I receive the most about this field of work is, "You know what I do when I get a call from a person with an eating disorder?...I refer out!" Understandable, but in many cases unfortunate.
It is true that many professional training programs do not adequately address the full scope of eating disorders assessment, treatment and prevention - given the breadth of information we receive in our training, it makes sense that there is not enough time to spend thoroughly addressing every treatment issue. Yet the by-product of this lack of information is that we have a whole host of qualified treatment providers who do not feel adequately equipped to address some of the most serious mental illnesses prevalent in our culture today.
Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. The risks associated with other forms of eating disorders are no less of a concern. Prevalence rates are shockingly high. The field needs more professionals who feel equipped to engage with these individuals, provide to care when they are able, or be an informed member of a comprehensive treatment team.
Is this blog meant to singlehandedly prepare you for the task? Of course not. However, there are many of you who are wanting to learn more about eating disorders, better understand their complexity, and enhance your treatment strategies with these folks. That's the purpose of "Treatment Notes" --- to address treatment considerations for non-specialists who wish to learn more about effective practice for eating disorders issues.
This blog will share information about various aspects of eating disorders treatment. Things like: how to decide which level of care is appropriate for a patient; how to assess for eating disorder symptoms; what the current literature says about effective treatment; how to involve families in treatment, and so forth. In essence, it will attempt to answer many of the most common "What do I do when...?" questions as they relate to eating disorders treatment.
So, let's get started! I will be posting on various topics over time, but if there is a particular question that you have or a certain area of eating disorders about which you wish to learn more, feel free to contact me at mail@drshepp.com, or post a question to this blog. We'll do our best to address each question, as appropriate. If it is something outside of the scope of this blog, don't worry, I'll let you know that as well and try to direct you to the best resources available in that area.
A few things as we begin...you'll notice that I don't use the words "anorexic" or "bulimic" in my blog posts. That is deliberate. I choose to use terms such as "person with anorexia" or "binge eating disorder patient". Our clients are individuals, separate from their eating disorder, and I prefer not to label them as such. Just my personal preference. Also, (minor point) sometimes I will say patient, sometimes I use the term client. I know that we all come from various disciplines, but please roll with me on that!
Thank you for wanting to help those folks with eating disorders and welcome to "Treatment Notes"!
Hello and welcome to "Treatment Notes", the blog for professionals who wish to learn more about treating eating disorders. In my many years of speaking with other treatment providers about my work with eating disorders, when it comes those who are not eating disorders specialists, the response that I receive the most about this field of work is, "You know what I do when I get a call from a person with an eating disorder?...I refer out!" Understandable, but in many cases unfortunate.
It is true that many professional training programs do not adequately address the full scope of eating disorders assessment, treatment and prevention - given the breadth of information we receive in our training, it makes sense that there is not enough time to spend thoroughly addressing every treatment issue. Yet the by-product of this lack of information is that we have a whole host of qualified treatment providers who do not feel adequately equipped to address some of the most serious mental illnesses prevalent in our culture today.
Anorexia nervosa has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. The risks associated with other forms of eating disorders are no less of a concern. Prevalence rates are shockingly high. The field needs more professionals who feel equipped to engage with these individuals, provide to care when they are able, or be an informed member of a comprehensive treatment team.
Is this blog meant to singlehandedly prepare you for the task? Of course not. However, there are many of you who are wanting to learn more about eating disorders, better understand their complexity, and enhance your treatment strategies with these folks. That's the purpose of "Treatment Notes" --- to address treatment considerations for non-specialists who wish to learn more about effective practice for eating disorders issues.
This blog will share information about various aspects of eating disorders treatment. Things like: how to decide which level of care is appropriate for a patient; how to assess for eating disorder symptoms; what the current literature says about effective treatment; how to involve families in treatment, and so forth. In essence, it will attempt to answer many of the most common "What do I do when...?" questions as they relate to eating disorders treatment.
So, let's get started! I will be posting on various topics over time, but if there is a particular question that you have or a certain area of eating disorders about which you wish to learn more, feel free to contact me at mail@drshepp.com, or post a question to this blog. We'll do our best to address each question, as appropriate. If it is something outside of the scope of this blog, don't worry, I'll let you know that as well and try to direct you to the best resources available in that area.
A few things as we begin...you'll notice that I don't use the words "anorexic" or "bulimic" in my blog posts. That is deliberate. I choose to use terms such as "person with anorexia" or "binge eating disorder patient". Our clients are individuals, separate from their eating disorder, and I prefer not to label them as such. Just my personal preference. Also, (minor point) sometimes I will say patient, sometimes I use the term client. I know that we all come from various disciplines, but please roll with me on that!
Thank you for wanting to help those folks with eating disorders and welcome to "Treatment Notes"!