Leader in innovative eating disorders treatment comes to Australia

5 MAY 2012: The Butterfly Foundation is bringing to Australia Carolyn Costin, a leading expert in eating disorders residential treatment, to help advocate for a broader range of treatment options in Australia.

A recent Australian review of studies has indicated that up to 15 per cent of women will need clinical intervention for an eating disorder, at some point in their life. Butterfly’s CEO Christine Morgan said that eating disorders can affect people of all ages, but the peak time of onset for anorexia and bulimia is in the teenage years.

“Eating disorders can have a major impact not just on general health, but on young people’s growth and development, relationships, school results and future career prospects. They are very complex and highly individual, with different people requiring distinct treatment models and different levels of care,” Christine Morgan said. “It is essential that Australians have access to the full range of best practice treatment options in order to give everyone the best chance of recovery.”

“Eating disorders have the highest lifetime mortality rate of any mental illness - twelve times higher for women suffering from an eating disorder than for those unaffected. Having access to a full continuum of care is essential to effectively treat all cases, and will reduce the long term impacts and costs for sufferers, their families and the wider community.”

Carolyn Costin is the founder of the successful Monte Nido residential eating disorder treatment centre in California. Her clinical practice expertise is highly regarded, with 30 years of experience in outpatient, day treatment, hospital and residential care. She has also written a number of highly respected books on the subject, including “The Eating Disorder Sourcebook” and “8 keys to Recovery From An Eating Disorder”.

Having recovered from an eating disorder herself, Carolyn is keen to help promote discussion on best-practice treatment methods. “We must make the treatments fit the patients, rather than the other way around. For example, some patients who could be better served at a residential treatment centre instead of a hospital are currently unable to access that option in Australia,” she said.

Ms Costin said residential treatment offers care that deals with both physical and mental health needs. “The residential setting gives patients access to medical staff, but in a home-like setting that allows us to work through some of the psychological issues in a close-to-real-life framework.”

“Australia currently has no residential programs for eating disorders and we hope that Carolyn’s visit will help focus attention on this, building awareness and momentum for a wider range of treatment options,” Christine Morgan said.

“The Butterfly Foundation believes that an integrated continuum of care should be publicly available to support people with eating disorders in Australia, including community-based and outpatient care, day programs, residential centres and inpatient services.”

Carolyn Costin will present workshops in state capitals, offering advice and assistance for parents, caregivers, health and community professionals. Further workshop details are attached below.

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Recipe for Recovery From An Eating Disorder workshops

Carolyn Costin will facilitate workshops for, covering some of the often asked questions, such as:

• What do you do when you discover someone has an eating disorder?
• What are they key ingredients for recovery?
• What is involved in effective treatment, and why?
• What are some of the key activities for parents, friends or spouses that can help their loved ones recover?
• What can patients do between treatment sessions to enhance their recovery?
• What are the signs of an eating disorder in your child?
• How do sufferers and those around them deal with food?

Workshops