Written by Castlewood Alumni “Kelley” & Erin McGinty, LPC- Primary Therapist and Program Director
From Kelley-
When I entered Castlewood, I thought life would get steadily easier. What I soon realized was I was beginning to embark on a journey towards authentic feeling; not an easy task when I was numbed out from the world for so many years.
Emotionally frozen for some time when I came to Castlewood, I began to slowly, very slowly defrost. I moved further away from engaging in my eating disorder behaviors, and closer to recovery. The layers and walls I built up during the period of time I had my eating disorder were gradually beginning to be broken down. As I thawed out from all the emotional pain and chaos I experienced for years, I soon realized that there was light at the end of the tunnel, and that this light was not a train barreling towards me to run me over. Rather, this light was the hope I had desperately, and eagerly been searching for. Continue reading “The Process of Therapy” »
Jenni Schaefer suffered from an eating disorder for most of her adolescence and early adulthood. She now dedicates herself to speaking internationally about recovery from Eating Disorders and how to really live a life in full recovery. Jenni has changed the face of advocacy for Eating Disorders, as well as redefined the recovery process and for that we at Castlewood, salute her. In her most recent book, Goodbye Ed, Hello Me: Recover from Your Eating Disorder and Fall in Love with Life (McGraw-Hill), Jenni helps illuminate the process of moving from just being in recovery to living a full and balanced life. This book builds on the foundation of her breakthrough best-seller, Life WithoutEd: How One Woman Declared Independence from Her Eating Disorder and How You Can Too.
Jenni speaks about her former relationship with her eating disorder in an article in the Huffington Post. She shares about recent speaking engagements as well as her singing and songwriting career. In this article she shares a great vision the future of our society. “ What would happen if we stopped being so preoccupied with whether or not our thighs touched at the top and obsessed about life instead? We could spend more quality time with our families. Or we could change careers, go speed dating, and even take trapeze lessons. We could experience more joy.”
Jenni also keeps a beautiful blog dedicated to stories of hope and inspiration for anyone suffering with an Eating Disorder. For more information on Jenni, her speaking engagements, and her writing, please visit her website.
Castlewood Treatment Center is proud to partner with the Elisa Project for the 2012 Annual Professional Symposium for the prevention and treatment of Eating Disorders. The symposium will be held at University of Texas Southwestern Medical school on February 16-17, 2012. Dr. Mark Schwartz, Castlewood Clinical Co-Director will be presenting at the symposium.
The Elisa Project was founded in 1999 by Rick and Leslie McCall in memory of their daughter Elisa, who suffered from an eating disorder and ultimately took her own life. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, The Elisa Project is dedicated to the prevention and effective treatment of eating disorders through support, awareness, education, and advocacy. They strive to be the premier knowledge resource on eating disorders and a proactive agent of change to ensure that all those affected by these diseases receive the treatment and support they need. Among our program goals:
Public Awareness: Educate the public to understand, prevent, and destigmatize eating disorders.
Community Education and Support: Empower those affected by eating disorders to understand and manage their health needs and to communicate effectively with their family, friends, and healthcare professionals.
Professional Education: Enhance the proficiency of healthcare professionals in the diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders.
Advocacy: Advocate for strong healthcare policies, ensuring access to care, appropriate attention to prevention, and adequate resources for treatment.
A recent magazine article featuring plus sized models has stirred quite the controversy in the fashion world. The article claims that most runway models meet the BMI criteria for Anorexia. This article also features provocative images of plus sized models and challenges the fashion industries preference for stick thin models. Obviously we could not agree more that it would serve all of us if fashion magazines and society in general accepted diverse body types, and welcomed this diversity into the media and culture. The magazine spread itself is interesting, but not what is most interesting to us. What is most interesting to us are the comments and discussion that has resulted. It brings to light a common debate in our field- health versus weight. Continue reading “Health Versus Weight?” »
