News Release, 17 October 2000
Services for people experiencing eating disorders are failing to address people's underlying needs and mental health problems according to the Mental Health Foundation. The call for services to change follows the results of a preliminary research project to be launched on Tuesday 17 October 2000 and a seminar involving people with experience of eating disorders and professionals working in this area.
"All too often the reaction to anybody with anorexia or bulimia is how you can get them well enough to leave hospital, for example," said Jan Wallcraft, adult mental health programme manager, Mental Health Foundation. "But we know, through listening to people with personal experience of eating disorders, that food is not the main issue. People gain weight, leave hospital, lose weight, and are re-admitted. It is essential that people don't just go back and forth through the revolving door but instead are helped to find holistic services that will enable them to recover."
The research by the Mental Health Foundation examined the experiences of 14 people aged between 23 and 51 years who had personal experience of living with eating problems for between nine and 45 years. Face-to-face interviews (carried out by people with personal experience of eating problems) looked at potential explanations for eating disorders and at what people had found helpful. A further questionnaire examined views of a small number of service providers across NHS services, independent complementary therapy practitioners and private clinics and services.
The research is dedicated to the memory of Rosalinde Caplin, a holistic therapist and former part time worker at the Foundation who died at the age of 43 after a 28-year struggle with eating disorders.
Both groups (people with experience of eating disorders and service providers) believed that there was a lack of appropriate and specialised NHS services for people experiencing eating disorders, and specifically a lack of good local services. Many said the only alternative was to pay for expensive private care or therapy.
Research with both groups confirmed that the root causes of eating problems are often found in childhood and family relationships and abuse leading to low self-esteem and low self-confidence. Eating disorders themselves were seen as a coping mechanism.
Trusting relationships with therapists were seen as a key factor in effective support, as was sharing experiences with other people who had experience of living with eating disorders which a number of participants at the seminar said made them feel less of a "freak".
Following the findings of the preliminary research and seminar, the Mental Health Foundation is calling for:
- Integrated services for people experiencing eating disorders which can be accessed through primary care and include a choice of talking treatments (long-term) and a range of complementary therapies such as aromatherapy, hypnotherapy and massage
- Services which address people's underlying needs and mental health problems rather than just the eating disorders
- A network of support groups to be established for people with eating disorders to share experiences and learn from each other
- More comprehensive, wide-scale research on the variety of services that people with eating disorders find helpful, with particular focus on early intervention.
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For further information and interview requests contact please contact the press office on 020 7803 1105 / 1128 or email the press office
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