Healthcare Professionals & Educators
About Eating Disorders
“What All Medical Professionals Should Know about Eating Disorders.” article by Dr. Angela Guarda, Director of the Eating Disorders Program at The John Hopkins Hospital.
ED Matters: The Gurze/Salucore podcast airs once a week and is where top experts in the field of eating disorders are interviewed. They share information for individuals recovering from eating disorders, their loved ones, clinicians in the field, and other individuals, professional or otherwise seeking to learn about eating disorders. Includes healthy, informative conversations about eating disorders.
CTRI Free Webinar: A great overview on eating disorders provided by the Crisis and Trauma Resource Institute.
Peer Reviewed Research Studies on Eating Disorders, taken from the International Eating Disorder Action Website. We have provided brief summaries of each research study.
Neurocognitive features of eating disorders presented by Dr. Kara Fitzpatrick; a three-part video series. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Assessment, Screening Tools & Diagnosis
Dear Doctor, Your Patient has an Eating Disorder.
- Clinical, research-based, & detailed article on signs that may show up in your office & how to arrive at an accurate diagnosis.
- Urges pediatricians to be on the lookout for this eating disorder among children.
- As well, EDSNA has compiled a number of other articles on this in the facts section.
- Peer-reviewed article from the Journal of Adolescent Health.
EDSNA’s Working with your Healthcare Provider sheet.
- Provides useful information for you and your healthcare provider.
Comprehensive list of resources for clinicians
- Assembled by the Centre for Excellence in Eating Disorders (UK).
- Includes Best Practice Guidelines, Medical Risk Management, Screening Tools, Assessment, Adolescent/Youth, Treatment, Recovery Planning, and more.
- A simple 5-question test used to screen for Anorexia and Bulimia, developed by UK doctors.
The Academy of Eating Disorders
- Developed a guide to early recognition and medical risk management in the care of individuals with eating disorders.
- It can be found HERE.
- From Eating Disorders Nova Scotia.
- This survey can help determine the degree to which an ED is impacting ones quality of life.
- From Eating Disorders Nova Scotia.
- This survey can help determine the degree to which an ED is impacting ones quality of life.
- From Eating Disorders Nova Scotia.
- This survey is a non-judgmental way to assess if the person is in a state where recovery is manageable.
- Developed in the UK, also helps patients walk through the steps to consider change.
Centre for Clinical Interventions
- Resources for clinicians who work with eating disorders
Podcast: Finding Courage in Discomfort and Tough Conversations with Grace Wong
- Grace Wong advocates for the non-diet approach, HAES and weight acceptance in her practise and campaigns for a supportive community where practitioners can engage in respectful disagreements and ongoing professional and personal develop to broaden perspectives and strengthen and advance our work
Consultation, Referrals & Resources in Alberta
AHS Poster: Physician’s Guide to Eating Disorders
- Professionals within Alberta who wish to consult on eating disorder topics, available services, how to make a referral to the program, and general treatment recommendations may contact the Program Consultant at the Calgary Eating Disorder Program, Meisha Kolbuc.
Phone: 403-955-8715
Email: meisha.kolbuc@albertahealthservices.ca
- For Eating Disorder Supports, Services, Sites, and Research compiled by AHS librarian at Red Deer Regional Hospital (NOTE: Treatment options are southern Alberta-specific).
Treatment & Guidelines
The Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Patients with Eating Disorders
- Generally regarded as the gold standard for the medical treatment of eating disorders.
- It is made available through the American Psychiatric Association website.
Exercise in Eating Disorders Treatment: Systematic Review and Proposal of Guidelines
- Effective medical treatment to help cessation of purging behaviours.
- Informative breakdown of all the sections of an eating disorder treatment team.
Dentists
Eating Disorder Hope: How to Reverse Dental Damage Caused By Bulimia Nervosa
- When an individual is binging and purging, the acidity from the bile that comes up affects dental health, this web page offers tips on how to reverse the damage.
NEDA: Dental Complications of Eating Disorders
- The harmful habits and nutritional deficiencies that often accompany disordered eating can have severe consequences on one’s dental health, this web page details the dental complications that may arise.
Oral Health: Diagnosing Bulimia
- Dental Professionals can be the first line of defense in identifying the warning signs and symptoms of bulimia, this web pages lists signs of disordered eating, what to say and how to proceed.
National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA)
- Developed a handout for dental hygienists and dentists.
- Outlines the dental complications of eating disorders, effects on teeth and gums and gives a step-by-step guide to start the conversation with a patient.
Educators
Teachers may be the first to notice the signs of disordered eating, poor body image, perfectionism, self-harm, or compulsive exercising in their students. They may wonder what to do, where to turn, what to say, when to say it and who to consult. With this in mind, EDSNA frequently receives requests to present to student populations, or other individuals under the age of 18.
Recent relevant research has indicated that providing presentations to students, or other individuals under the age of 18, lacks preventative power- little to nothing is gained by offering information in these formats to this audience. If anything, addressing youth and adolescent cohorts directly may increase the likelihood of experimentation with maladaptive behaviours, and may inadvertently improve the sophistication of hiding techniques.
In keeping with these findings, EDSNA seeks to support teachers, administrative staff, and counselors by supporting them directly, in the hopes that they may be better able to notice and report disordered eating behaviour in the youth and adolescents that they work with.
Understand
- Eating disorders are serious illnesses. They have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.
- It isn’t your job to fix it or assume control of their food intake. That is the job of professionals who specialize in the treatment of eating disorders.
- Eating Disorders aren’t a phase, they don’t go away if you ignore them.
- Early intervention leads to better outcomes, so it’s important to respond sooner rather than later.
- Even after treatment, the process isn’t done. Recovery takes on average 7 years, so those affected will need support, encouragement, accommodations, and compassion when they return to school.
- School culture can influence the recovery process. It’s important to be aware of the messages being sent and try to see things through the eyes of someone with this illness. Eating in a crowded cafeteria may be impossible. Diet challenges or activities around food may be triggering. Posters that only support the thin ideal don’t emphasize health at any size and body acceptance.
- Recovery is possible and young people who have early, appropriate treatment have the best recovery rates.
Request an eating disorder presentation (for populations over 18 only) from EDSNA by emailing info@edsna.ca
Tools, Curriculum & Support
Farm to School B.C. Webinar: Supporting Healthy Eating at School
- This nearly hour long webinar describes roles of adults and children with respect to feeding and eating, along with exploring how our language around food can impact children’s eating habits.
- Six tips for lunchroom monitors to help instill healthy eating habits
Tips for Talking About Food to Children
- This web page offers suggestions about ways to talk to children about food, including focusing on teaching about food, keeping the focus away from weight and remembering children may not have control over what goes into their lunch
Understanding Food and Weight Preoccupation in Youth
- A three page document for educators filled with tips and facts to recognize the warning signs of eating disorders and disordered eating.
- Elizabeth Tingle and Dana Fulwiler discuss why weight-neutral approaches to health and wellbeing are ideal for every body in the school context.
Podcast: WNW Series: Weight-Neutral Schools with Dr. Shelly Russell-Mayhew
- The group discusses concerns with weight-centric health promotion and strategies on how to make a cultural shift towards more inclusive health messages.
- The Gurze/Salucore podcast airing once a week where top experts in the field of eating disorders are interviewed.
- Sharing information for individuals recovering from eating disorders, their loved ones, clinicians in the field, and other individuals, professional or otherwise seeking to learn about eating disorders. Healthy conversations about eating disorders.
- Research paper on a school counselor’s role in helping students with eating disorders.
- Developed by the National Eating Disorder Association the USA.
- Developed by the National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC) of Canada.
- 20 lessons and is set out for grades 4-8 and is absolutely FREE. They are currently updating it to include more about social media.
18 Effective De-Escalation Strategies for Diffusing Meltdowns
- Informative webpage about using effective validation techniques in the classroom to quickly de-escalate high emotion.
- Request an online presentation for adults or youth via NEDIC.
- Youth presentations are focused on body image, self-esteem and media literacy.
- Adult presentation focuses on recognizing the signs of eating disorders and prevention.
- Families facing eating disorders need support.
- Encourage parents, partners, and loved ones to reach out to EDSNA and learn more about our groups which are available in Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer and online.