Friends and family members of victims of eating disorders aren't often thought of as victims themselves, but the Ball State Counseling Center is making efforts to change that.
The Eating Disorder Outreach team of the counseling center is providing a psycho-educational seminar for parents, family and friends of Ball State students who struggle with an eating disorder today.
Kim Gorman, Assistant Director of Training and staff psychologist at the Counseling Center, said that 10 percent of college students have an eating disorder and that a recent study by another member of the Eating Disorder Outreach team showed that 60 percent of Ball State students have engaged in disordered eating, which could lead to a full-blown eating disorder.
The Counseling Center already offers assessments of students who think they might have an eating disorder, as well as individual and group therapy and workshops for those students.
Today's program, as well as the other two that will follow, are geared toward those close to students with eating disorders.
"We decided to offer these workshops in order to give extra support to what we see as an under served population, the supporters of our students," Gorman said. "While we help students with eating disorders, we have not been attentive to helping those who still have to 'deal' with the eating disorder, although they are not experiencing it directly."
The free seminars, which will meet monthly on the second Wednesday of every month, will feature professionals in the area of eating disorders from a number of disciplines including psychology, medicine and nutrition to discuss topics relating to eating disorders.
Gorman said that the seminars would be a great place for a person to go learn about eating disorders, especially if he or she suspects they know someone with an eating disorder.
"We hope to share information that is helpful to these folks by offering tips of 'dos and don'ts,' giving specific information about medical concerns regarding eating disorders, talking about the different levels of treatment for eating disorders and offering a place for friends and family to share their own stories and suggestions for others," Gorman said.
The topic of today's program is "Eating Disorders: Tips and strategies for family and friends." On May 11, the seminar will discuss nutrition issues, and on June 8, the meeting will focus on medical concerns and complications. The seminars will not take place during the summer but will pick back up in the fall.
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