The F.E.A.S.T. community put together an all-day event in Chicago,
one day after the International Conference for Eating Disorders ended,
with little notice and a lot of heart. It was a day none of us will
forget!
We counted 87 people in the room, a generous
mix of parents new to the topic of eating disorders and experienced
parents, as well as clinicians and researchers and eating disorder
advocates.
Among our thanks for an informative and
empowering day are the venue, The Conference Center At University
Center. An ideal setting for our audience the room was lovely, the staff
warm and helpful, and the catering was, as one participant described
it,
"quite the best packed lunch I've ever experienced at an organised event."
See
below for the final program, but suffice it to say it was a buffet of
interesting ideas, people, inspiration, and accents! There were
participants from at least nine countries, and there were tears of both
laughter and sadness along the way. Due to the
livestream set up and managed by F.E.A.S.T. Executive Director, Belinda
Caldwell, the room also included hundreds of other participants online
during the day, and a steady stream since. We have lightly edited that
video and it is now available at no charge online, and linked below.
Among the topics we discussed: siblings, legally adult patients, boundaries, microbiome, target weight, re-feeding, advocacy in small countries, fathers, marriage, and privacy.
"fantastically arranged, filled with helpful information from some of the best"
We introduced a lot of people to one another and to the community that day, and many new relationships started. We encouraged the parent community to advocate for their families, and for better treatment for all families.
We learned about new science and shared sources for the important process of continuing to learn as we go. We heard from advocates and leaders in the field about ways parents can get informed and involved.
And, we cried. It was inevitable. With gratitude, and grief, and hope as well.
Thank you to all the volunteers, those who donated for scholarship tickets, to the Conference Center, to the Board of Directors and volunteers of F.E.A.S.T., and to our supporters around the world. Thank you for attending, and for watching along online, and for spreading the word on the event.
And now: Mark Your Calendars:
March 17, 2019 in New York City for the next F.E.A.S.T. of Knowledge.
and
June 14, 2020, in Sydney for the 3rd.
"I will definitely be in NYC."
Listen below to an edited version of the Livestream, and you can follow along with the program:
So wonderful to see all the smiling faces and especially those of my long term friends and you Laura are a special friend. I am looking forward to NYC FEAST of knowledge in 2019
Parent/Carer insight sought to assist in developing early identification resources. The team at the Victorian Centre of Excellence in Eating Disorders are currently developing an early intervention resource package in direct response to feedback provided by parents and carers. The aim is to have the package available for families and carers at the first point where they seek help. This resource specifically aims to assist parents or carers to determine how concerned they should be about their young person; what eating disorders are and are not; when to escalate access to treatment; where to seek treatment and what to expect; and what parents can be doing at home in the meantime. A focus group was undertaken with 15 parents and they are now wanting to expand on the very valuable learnings gleaned from the group through wider survey. So, if you could please take the time to take the survey and to forward (via the link below) on to any families you think will be willing to assist
Guest Post by Lauren Muhlheim , Psy.D., CEDS and Therese Waterhous, PhD/RDN 2 Case Studies of how FBT trained clinician parents used FBT for an early intervention. Eating Disorders are serious mental illnesses with dangerous medical consequences. Without early intervention, eating disorders may become chronic or even fatal. Parents are often unaware of some of the early signs of an eating disorder. Even if they are aware of early warning signs, they are often uncertain and reluctant to intervene out of fear of worsening the situation. Maudsley Family Based Treatment (FBT) is one of the leading evidence-based treatments for adolescents with eating disorders. Studies are underway to evaluate the effectiveness of early interventions using an FBT approach. Parents Act Now is a study at Stanford for early intervention for Anorexia and Family Internet-Based Early Bulimia Nervosa Study is underway at the University of Chicago. This paper describes how two
"Wasting Away": A Channel 4 Documentary Mark and Maddy Austin. Photograph: David Hogan/Channel 4 To those who have watched, heard about, or who are discussing the Channel 4 Documentary “Wasting Away” , broadcast Thursday August 24, 10pm in the UK … … a blog post from F.E.A.S.T.'s Chair I watched the powerfully affecting documentary aired on Channel 4 last week, although I didn’t really want to; not because I don’t care about the story of Mark and his daughter Maddy and the effects of her illness on all of their family, and not because I don’t care about the others who were featured, many of whom have been failed or are failing within the scope of UK healthcare, but because I do care, very much. And because I knew that I would be affected, my family having once been affected by an eating disorder too, and because of what I have seen of how eating disorders have affected many families over my many years of volunteering for F.E.A.S.T. Anyway, I watched, and a
So wonderful to see all the smiling faces and especially those of my long term friends and you Laura are a special friend. I am looking forward to NYC FEAST of knowledge in 2019
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