It was 1970. I learned at a young adolescent age to appreciate the value of support. I remember well my teacher, Mr. Monson, and his tall lanky frame, his worn black flood pants, his shortsleeved white shirt and black tie. I remember most his gentle kindness to a longhaired, tuned-out, and lost soul – an unlikely recipient.

These suggestions and ideas come from women at Center for Change who are currently engaged in treatment for an eating disorder and are at various stages in their own recovery:

Did you know that by playing an electronic game you could learn about life? One of the hottest holiday items this year is the Tamagotchi electronic pet. If you haven’t heard of a Tamagotchi, it is simply a hand held, LCD screen with attitude. It has real life demands such as needing to be fed, cleaned up after, played with, rested and to be socially connected to other Tamagotchi pets.

When approaching the important and humbling task of treating teenagers with eating disorders, it is important to understand:

Mary is 47, lonely, socially phobic about relationships, and weighs 525 lbs. She is constantly dieting, having tried numerous diet plans. She is obsessed with thoughts of food. She reports hearing a voice in the back of her mind that continually tells her to eat. When she is not dieting she feels compelled to eat large amounts of food daily, and has done so for as long as she can remember.

enter for Change is committed to ongoing research with eating disorders to enhance the awareness and treatment of this population and our clientele. Last year we became part of a research team on Binge Eating Disorder (BED). Generally this disorder has been included in the diagnosis of Eating Disorder, NOS.

During a session with a client who has long suffered with an eating disorder I was discussing what it would be like if she could feel positive about herself. I was shocked with the response she gave me. Instead of reporting a desire to feel better about herself, this client laughed at me and retorted, "Self-esteem is laughable to me.

As the cost of health care increases, therapists, hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare related companies are struggling with justifying costs and keeping expenses to a minimum. Inpatient treatment of mental conditions is hard to justify.