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This is a specialist service who work with groups of young people under the age of 18 who have an eating disorder, and their families.
An eating disorder is a mental health condition where you use the control of food to cope with feelings or other situations. The most common eating disorders are anorexia, bulimia and Binge Eating Disorder (which is also known as BED). There is also an eating disorder called Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) which is not driven by body image or a fear of weight.
The role of the team is to support you and to help you recover from your eating disorder. Because the Eating Disorders team work with children and young people with different eating disorders, the support given from the team is tailored just for you and your family.
To be seen by the Eating Disorders team, you can talk to your GP or school nurse. You might also be referred by a paediatrician or the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) if they feel you could benefit from the support of the ED team.
All the teams in CAMHS are multi-disciplinary. This means that there are a wide range of specialist staff who all work with children and young people experiencing mental health difficulties.
The team are based at Mawson House which is in Braunstone on the west of Leicester City.
Your referral will be looked at by a nurse in the team. In most cases, they will make contact with you and your family to gather more information about your difficulties and to think about why you have been referred. Following this, you may be invited to an assessment, referred to another mental health service that is better placed to help you with your difficulties or signposted to other support services.
An assessment simply means that a member of the team will talk to you and listen to you to gather information about your psychological wellbeing and behaviours. This usually takes a whole morning and your family will be invited to join in this conversation. You will have time to talk to the clinician alone and with your family. You and your family will also complete some questionnaires either before or during the initial appointment.
If after assessment it is felt you need treatment, then a member of the Eating Disorders team will be allocated to you, they are called a Lead Professional. They will meet with you and your family to discuss your difficulties and listen to your concerns. With your Lead Professional, you will decide what the best way forward is for you, what the right therapeutic approach is and create a plan. Another option may be referring you onto a different specialist mental health service that we feel might be helpful for you.
Your plan might include working with you and your family in Family Based Treatment. This is where the whole family work to support you in your challenges with your eating disorder, going through a planned process of recovery until you are able to manage on your own again.
You might be offered Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Eating Disorders. This is focussed on changing your thoughts and beliefs about eating, body shape and weight.
If the team feel that neither of these options are right for you there are other treatment options that will be offered. Depending on your treatment, you or your family may be offered workshops and/or group work to support you. You are also likely to be seen in our monitoring clinics to check both your physical and mental health.
Your care and treatment plan will very much depend on these ongoing conversations and exploring what you and the team think would work best for you, your psychological and physical wellbeing, and your family.
If you need urgent mental health support, 24/7 support is available over the phone. Call NHS 111, selecting mental health crisis option 2. This number is open 24 hours a day and is totally free and confidential. You can also text 0748 063 5199. If there is an immediate threat to life, dial 999. If you are deaf and have urgent mental health needs, you can use the NHS 111 British Sign Language service: www.signvideo.co.uk/nhs111 Please note the NHS 111 line is not an emergency service. Click here for more information.
You can also
Our resources:
Other Helpful Resources for Young People:
