NEDIC. Information for Eating Disorders and Weight Preoccupation.

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Research

INTERNATIONAL ANOREXIA NERVOSA TREATMENT STUDY


Researchers at the University Health Network and Hospital for Sick Children are part of an international multi-site study evaluating effective outpatient pyschological treatments for adolescents with anorexia nervosa.

AIMS OF THE PROJECT
Anorexia Nervosa is a serious illness that usually starts in adolescence and is often long lasting. The chronic form of the disorder is associated with significant physical and psychological disability. To prevent these long-term complications, it is essential to identify and treat the illness in its early stage, usually in adolescence.

RESEARCH INTERVENTION
In this study, families with an adolescent age 12-18 years old with a diagnosis of AN will be randomly assigned to one of the following 2 treatment groups:
- Behavioural Family Therapy
- Systems Family Therapy

WHAT IS INVOLVED:
- 16 family therapy sessions
- Medical and psychiatric monitoring
- 4 assessment visits

If you are considering participating or if you want to find out more about this research contact: Reva Schacter, University Health Network, 8EN-234, 200 Elizabeth Street, Toronto, Ont. M5G 2C4

Telephone: (416) 340-4800 ext. 3894
Email: revajs@mac.com

All inquiries will be treated strictly confidential.

Posted February 11, 2008

MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID GUIDELINES PROJECT:
Eating Disorders INFORMATION SHEET

What is Mental Health First Aid?
Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is the help given by a member of the public to a person who is developing a mental illness, experiencing a mental health crisis or has an on-going mental health problem. MHFA is not meant to be a substitute for professional help. It is the initial help given before a person gets to professional help. The MHFA training program was developed in 2000 by Ms Betty Kitchener and Professor Tony Jorm in an attempt to provide basic knowledge to people on how to help someone who is experiencing mental health difficulties (see www.mhfa.com.au for more details). The course has been very well-received by the Australian public and has now been taught Asia, North America and Europe.

What is the aim of this project?
This project will produce guidelines for members of the public who are providing Mental Health First Aid to someone who is suspected to be experiencing or developing an eating disorder. This research aims to describe how a member of the public should approach a friend, family member or loved one to discuss and help them with a suspected eating disorder. The guidelines developed by this research will be applied in training courses across developed English speaking countries in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and North America. Guidelines for a number of mental health crisis situations, including Depression, Psychosis, Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviours, and Deliberate Self-Injury have been developed over the past two years.

Who is conducting this research?
The research is being conducted by ORYGEN Research Centre at the University of Melbourne.

What will the research involve?
You are invited to be an expert panel member for the development of the eating disorders guidelines. This research involves no meetings, as the expert panel will never meet face-to-face. All tasks will be completed individually in your own time via the internet.

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to do the following:
1.Complete a questionnaire via the internet which asks you to rate whether certain actions should be included in the Mental Health First Aid guidelines for eating disorders. If you are unable to access the internet, we will provide a paper version of the questionnaire.
2.You may be asked to rate the statements again after you have seen a summary of the ratings given by other panel members, as the aim of the project is to achieve consensus about the best ways to help someone who may have an eating disorder. You can choose to maintain or change your original ratings.
3.Depending on the level of consensus achieved, several rounds of this process may be required.
4.Provide any comments on a draft of the guidelines.
We expect that the questionnaire will take approximately 30-60 minutes to complete. We estimate the total time commitment for this project to be 2-3 hours, but this estimate ultimately depends on the time taken by each individual panel member to complete the survey and the number of rounds required.

What if I change my mind?
Participation in this project is voluntary. If you change your mind about participating, you are free to withdraw from the project at any time and you may also withdraw your data if you wish, simply by contacting the researcher Laura Hart at the details provided below.

Who is being asked to participate?
We are inviting people to participate as panel members if they have expertise in the field of eating disorders. The panel members will be drawn from Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the USA and Canada. There are three categories of panel members:
1. Clinicians who have professional experience in the area of eating disorders;
2. Consumers who have personally experienced eating disorders;
3. Carers of people who have experienced eating disorders.
Disorders

What about privacy?
Any data we collect from you will be held under password protection and not divulged to others. We are interested in the consensus views of the panel, rather than the views of individual members, so your individual answers will never be reported. We will only present the results in statistical summary form.

Are there any risks?
Some people may find that reading the statements upsets them, or may remind them of their own experiences. However, in our previous studies using this method only a very small number of people reported feeling upset. Many people in our previous studies have said they felt proud and happy to be able to contribute to a better understanding of how to help others. We advise anyone who finds themselves feeling upset to talk to their support people and decide whether they wish to continue with the questionnaire or stop.

What are the benefits?
This project has the potential to lead to better community support for people who are experiencing or developing an eating disorder, by providing guidance to family, friends or loved ones who care for those with mental health problems. The Mental Health First Aid guidelines developed by this project will be relevant internationally for English-speaking countries and will be implemented in a range of training courses.

How can I get further information?
If you would like further information before deciding to participate,
please contact Laura Hart
email: lhart@unimelb.edu.au
phone: +61-3-9342 3764, 0401 266 246.

Who do I contact if I would like to participate in this project?
If you would like to participate in this project,
please contact Laura Hart
email: lhart@unimelb.edu.au
phone: +61-3-9342 3764, 0401 266 246.

This project has been approved by the University of Melbourne Human Research Ethics Committee. If you have concerns about the ethics of the study, please contact:
Executive Officer, Human Research Ethics,
The University of Melbourne,
phone: +61-3-8344 2073, fax: +61-3-9347 6739.

Posting updated Nov. 11, 2007

Volunteers Wanted For Research on Health Care Service Accessibility & Satisfaction for Eating Disorders In Newfoundland

Have you sought help because you thought you may have had an eating disorder or because you felt you were at risk for developing an eating disorder?
OR
Have you sought help for behaviors often associated with an eating disorder?
AND
Are you willing to discuss your experiences?

Whether you have received a diagnosis, healthcare services or not I?d like to hear your opinions!

I am conducting a study of patients? perspectives on health care accessibility for individuals who have sought help because they were at risk of developing an eating disorder or were already affected with an eating disorder.

Individuals who have sought help from any source for issues in these areas are invited to participate in this research study.

All interviews will be conducted by a single researcher as part of her completion of a M.A. degree in Sociology. These interviews can be conducted in person or over the telephone. Ethical approval for this study has been granted by The Interdisciplinary Committee on Ethics in Human Research at Memorial University of Newfoundland. If you would like to participate, this researcher assures confidentiality.

For more information about this study or to participate, please contact:
Kate Hickey, M.A. Candidate Telephone: 709-754-3406 OR Email: helpseeking@gmail.com

All inquiries will be treated strictly confidential.

Posted February 11, 2008

Art in the treatment of Anorexia Nervosa

How do you see the use of art? Do you find art useful? Do you see art as a healing tool? Are you interested in sharing your story? This research study will explore the use of art in work with women who have been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. If you are currently or have been previously diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, and participate in group work or individual sessions, you may be interested in sharing your story.

As a woman, feminist and social worker, I am interested in exploring meaningful and respectful ways to engage with women experiencing anorexia nervosa. Art can often be seen as a method of evoking feelings and intense emotions, and I am interested in understanding how you see the use of art techniques in your journey of healing.

If you are:

• a female diagnosed (or previously diagnosed) with anorexia nervosa
• between 15-25 years of age
• participate in sessions that involve art techniques, art therapy or art modalities with a social worker, art therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, counselor or therapist,

then please contact me if you are interested in participating in a one-hour open-ended interview that allows you to talk about your path to recovery.

All participants will receive 2 free Famous Players movie passes.

Contact: Deepy Sur, York University, Masters of Social Work Student, deesur@yorku.ca, 416-540-3337

Borderline Personality, Self Harm and Eating Disorder Study

Study participants needed!. Free treatment will be offered

Do you struggle with self-harm and eating disorder symptoms?

Have you received a diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder?

You may be eligible to participate in a *new* treatment study at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario Canada.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18+
• Ongoing regular contact with a health professional
• A diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder
• Current binge eating and/or purging behaviours
• Current self-harm episodes

Exclusion Criteria:

• A serious medical condition that may require hospitalization
• Current Psychotic Disorder or Bipolar I Disorder
• BMI less than 17.5
• Concurrent intensive inpatient or outpatient hospital/clinic treatment (e.g. eating disorder treatment, other DBT).

For more information, please contact 416-535-8501 extension 6799 or email anita_federici@camh.net

Posted 4 April 2007

Art in the treatment of Anorexia Nervosa

How do you see the use of art? Do you find art useful? Do you see art as a healing tool? Are you interested in sharing your story? This research study will explore the use of art in work with women who have been diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. If you are currently or have been previously diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, and participate in group work or individual sessions, you may be interested in sharing your story.

As a woman, feminist and social worker, I am interested in exploring meaningful and respectful ways to engage with women experiencing anorexia nervosa. Art can often be seen as a method of evoking feelings and intense emotions, and I am interested in understanding how you see the use of art techniques in your journey of healing.

If you are:

• a female diagnosed (or previously diagnosed) with anorexia nervosa
• between 15-25 years of age
• participate in sessions that involve art techniques, art therapy or art modalities with a social worker, art therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, counselor or therapist,

then please contact me if you are interested in participating in a one-hour open-ended interview that allows you to talk about your path to recovery.

All participants will receive 2 free Famous Players movie passes.

Contact: Deepy Sur, York University, Masters of Social Work Student, deesur@yorku.ca, 416-540-3337

Eating Disorders and Exercise Study

A group of investigators (Dr's Davis, Kaplan, Olmsted and Woodside) at the Toronto General Hospital is currently conducting a research project whose purpose is to study relationships among exercising, dieting and certain personality factors. Previous evidence suggests that the associations among these factors may have significance in the development and maintenance of eating disorders.

The success of this project depends on the participation of a large number of individuals who are currently diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder, ages 17-45, at any weight. Volunteers will be asked to complete a questionnaire package. None of the questions are difficult or embarrassing to answer. In addition, there will be a short interview (approximately 10 minutes) in order to gather information concerning participants' sport and exercise history. In total, involvement in the study should not take more than an hour of your time.

If you are interested in volunteering and are able to help us with this study - or if you just want more information - please call Dr Davis' research assistant Karen Patte 416-736-2100 x77239 or email her at kapatte@yorku.ca

Drug Treatment Study for Patients with Anorexia Nervosa

Investigators at Toronto General Hospital are conducting a treatment study in collaboration with Columbia University, looking at a medication that may be helpful for people with anorexia nervosa (AN).

A review of the literature shows that no particular therapeutic approach for adult patients with AN has clear empirical support. Initial intensive treatment emphasizes weight restoration and normalization of eating; given the time and financial resources needed, such intensive programs may not be acceptable for all who need it. As a result, AN is greatly in need of new research initiatives to identify more effective treatments.

The study involves an 8-week randomized, placebo-controlled medication trial. The inclusion criteria are as follows:

• DSM-IV diagnosis of current AN (amenorrhea not strictly applied)
• Body mass index (BMI) between 14 and 19
• 16 years of age or older
• Willing to consider taking medication
• Available for weekly check-in sessions at Toronto General Hospital

Participants do not need to stop current psychological treatments in order to take part in this study

For more information, please contact Zeynep Yilmaz at 416-340-4800 x 6177 or e-mail zeynep.yilmaz@uhnresearch.ca