Eating Disorder in Teens
A colleague from a well respected Residential Treatment Center forwarded me this wonderful article written by Dr. Kim Dennis (New-Food-Fight). She is a psychiatrist who writes about her personal experience with an eating disorder. In sharing her experience, strength and hope, both as a member of the medical community and the recovery community, she is inviting to help and support others on their journal to recovery.
To me, it is especially meaningful and helpful when treatment professionals can draw from their own personal experience. We value this at the The Family Foundation School, the therapeutic boarding school where I work, since it helps the staff relate to the struggles of the students have AND it helps the students relate to the staff (they really understand me – they know what I am going through). So often, treatment is provided by well intentioned and well trained individuals but who lack personal recovery experience. It is refreshing when people like Dr. Dennis share their own experience, along side their professional training.
“A Doctor, A Director and a Friend of ED” is a great article to share with those who are in treatment for eating disorders. KIMBERLY DENNIS, MD, is the medical director at Timberline Knolls (www.timberlineknolls.com). Located in Lemont, Ill., Timberline Knolls is an innovative residential treatment center designed exclusively for women and adolescent girls with emotional disorders, including eating disorders, addiction and self-injury behavior. Dr. Dennis is a member of the Academy of Eating Disorders, the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine.