Eating Disorders SIG

Eating Disorders are complex, multifaceted conditions which can have severe physical, social and psychological ramifications. Obsessive concern about food, weight, and appearance, inappropriate eating behaviour and body image distortions are threads that run through the clinical presentations of most eating disorders. It is not uncommon for a disordered relationship with food and body to run alongside other co-morbid conditions such as complex PTSD, emotionally unstable personality disorder, anxiety, depression, perfectionism and OCD. For most individuals there is a strong dissociative and addictive component.

Although research into the effectiveness of EMDR in eating disorder treatment is still limited, it is beginning to demonstrate the reduction of specific eating disorder symptoms as well as the above comorbid conditions.

The Eating Disorders SIG has evolved over a number of years and currently has a membership of 153 clinicians, all who have a passion to better serve this much suffering clinical group. Members of this SIG work in a range of clinical settings from those exclusively in private practice to those working in NHS specialist eating disorder services. This makes for a rich mix of clinical experiences across the full spectrum of service provision.

SIG Objectives:

• To have 4 free online meetings a year – usually with a presentation on a specific topic
• To facilitate the use of a WhatsApp networking group
• Provide a space to confidentially share experiences and discuss challenging clinical issues
• To provide mutual professional support and share learnings with each other
• Share and discuss the growing evidence research relating to the use of EMDR in the treatment of eating disorders

The Committee:

Chair: Sam Giles – samantha.giles.therapy@gmail.com