This May the American Psychiatric Association will release the DSM-V with many changes to the landscape of mental health diagnoses. One of these changes is the inclusion of Binge Eating Disorder as its own distinct eating disorder diagnosis. To mark this change, KMOV, the St. Louis local CBS affiliate, aired a feature on Binge Eating Disorder. Ms. Katie Thompson, a primary therapist at Castlewood Treatment Center was featured as a Binge Eating Disorder Treatment expert and discussed the various options available for treatment. A Castlewood Alumnae was also featured and shared her inspiring story of recovery from Binge Eating Disorder. Castlewood is so proud to be included in this episode of Great Day St. Louis. Thank you to Katie Thompson and our Castlewood Alumnae for sharing your knowledge with the St. Louis community. We hope to get the word out that BED represents the largest class of eating disorder diagnoses, that the DSM-V now includes this as a legitimate diagnosis and treatment is available.
This summer on June 7th, 2013 Project HEAL plans to host its annual Gala event in New York, NY. The event will feature live music by the Peter Sparacino Trio and will honor Evelyn Attia, M.D., the Director of the Columbia and Weill Cornell Center for Eating Disorders. Project HEAL is a non profit organization co-founded by three girls who first met in an eating disorder treatment center. After achieving recovery the girls wanted to give back and founded Project Heal. The organization provides treatment scholarships to deserving men and women in order for them to have access to treatment they would otherwise not be able to afford. Project HEAL founders and members also speak nationally to promote awareness and positive self esteem initiatives.
Castlewood Treatment Center is sponsoring the Gala event and proudly supports Project Heal and their initiatives. We work with our clients to fight for insurance coverage throughout their stay at Castlewood and recognize the importance of scholarships and grants to help with treatment costs. Many of those who suffer with eating disorders do not have insurance or do not have residential benefits on their policy. Castlewood is committed to helping causes like Project HEAL as they continue to help clients access life saving services.
Click here for more information on the Gala Event or to make a donation.
The American Counseling Association of Missouri will hosts its annual conference this Thursday through Saturday in Jefferson City, Missouri. The conference offers lectures on a wide variety of topics and is a great way to network with other counselors throughout the region. The keynote lecture will be given by Dr. John Krumboltz and Dr. Howard Rosenthal. Castlewood Treatment Center will have an exhibit table at the conference and is proud to help support the American Counseling Association of Missouri. Castlewood staff members Erin McGinty, LPC and Katie Thompson, LPC will present at the conference on Friday April 12th. Erin McGinty will present first from 8:00-9:30 am on “Treating Co-Morbid Eating and Anxiety Disorders.” Later on Friday from 4:15-5:15 pm Katie Thompson and Erin McGinty will co-present on “Comprehensive Treatment of Eating Disorders.” Castlewood is honored to provide two of breakout session lectures at the conference and hopes that if you plan to attend you will attend our lectures and stop by our booth.
Click here for more information on the ACAM conference April 11-13, 2013
The Missouri Eating Disorder Association will sponsor an annual Gala fundraiser May 18, 2013 in St. Louis. The Missouri Eating Disorder Association is the Missouri chapter of the National Eating Disorder Association. The Missouri Eating Disorders Association’s mission is to bring “hope, compassion and understanding to the fight against eating disorders.” MOEDA provides “education, resources and advocacy as well as attempts to bring understanding and support to those treating or affected by eating disorders.” MOEDA hosts annual NEDA walks in cities across Missouri, brings speakers and continuing education events to the area, as well as provides advocacy to the state legislature regarding eating disorder and mental health legislation.
Castlewood Treatment Center is excited to support the MOEDA annual gala as the Presenting Sponsor of the event. The evening promises to be a great event involving a dinner and silent auction with all proceeds benefiting MOEDA. We encourage area businesses and families to support the event with your attendance or a donation.
Click Here to View Sponsorship Information
Contact the MOEDA Gala Chairwoman, Lisa Iken-Sokolik at lisa.iken-sokolik@castlewoodtc.com for more information on sponsorship or to RSVP to the event.
Join the Missouri Eating Disorder Association and Castlewood Treatment Center at the 5th Annual Missouri Eating Disorder Advocacy Day. Castlewood is a proud sponsor of the Missouri Eating Disorder Association and their efforts for awareness, prevention and political action regarding eating disorder and insurance legislation. Please make plans to attend the advocacy day at the state capital in Jefferson City, Missouri.
WHEN:
Thursday, March 28, 2013
10:15-11:15AM Rally
11:15AM-2:00PM Meetings w/Legislators
WHERE:
The MO State Capitol, 1st Floor Rotunda
210 West Capitol Avenue
Jefferson City, MO 65101
Special Guest appearance by NEDA Ambassador Kirsten Haglund, Miss America 2008
Don’t stay silent! Your voice CAN be a catalyst for change!
Your passion, expertise and experience can make a difference.
For more information, or to RSVP, contact Lara Gregorio at lgregorio@myneda.org.
We encourage RSVPs to lgregorio@myneda.org with your name and address by March 20th
RESCHEDULED DATE
Castlewood Treatment Center is sponsoring the Columbia Missouri NEDA walk March 16, 2013. Representatives from Castlewood and our alumni will be at the walk to provide information and resources to attendees regarding eating disorder treatment. If you plan on attending please stop by our table and say hello!
In the United States, 30 million men and women will suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder during their lifetime. NEDA Walks help raise awareness and funds in the fight against eating disorders. Started in the spring of 2009, NEDA Walks have grown to over 40 walks across the nation each year, raising over $1.7 million dollars for the cause since their inception!
By participating in and donating to a NEDA Walk, you are helping to raise awareness about the dangers surrounding eating disorders and the need for early intervention and treatment. By getting involved in a NEDA Walk, you are saving lives.
Event Details
Walk Venue: Columbia Cosmopolitan Recreation Area Antimi Shelter
Walk Location: 1615 Business Loop 70 West, Columbia MO 65201
Walk Date: Saturday, March 16, 2013
Check In Time: 9:30 AM
Opening Remarks: 10:00 AM
Walk Start Time: 10:30 AM
Raffles/Prizes: 11:45 AM
Walk End Time: 12:00 PM
Walk Fundraising Goal: $5,000
Contact: Emmy Boyd
Phone: (813)-454-4536
Email: comonedawalk@yahoo.com
The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) is the leading non-profit organization in the United States advocating on behalf of and supporting individuals and families affected by eating disorders. Reaching millions every year, we campaign for prevention, improved access to quality treatment, and increased research funding to better understand and treat eating disorders. We work with partners and volunteers to develop programs and tools to help everyone who seeks assistance.
NEDA’s History
NEDA was formed in 2001, when Eating Disorders Awareness & Prevention (EDAP) joined forces with the American Anorexia Bulimia Association (AABA) – merging the largest and longest standing eating disorders prevention and advocacy organizations in the world. The merger was the most recent in a series of alliances that has also included the National Eating Disorder Organization (NEDO) and the Anorexia Nervosa & Related Disorders (ANRED).
Matthew Ryd, a former client at Castlewood Treatment Center and musician extraordinaire uses his talents each year during National Eating Disorder Awareness Week to raise money for the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) and the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD). In previous years he has participated in various fundraisers including creating a video sharing his story with the world to bring awareness to men and eating disorders. Matt shared that he feels that awareness is extremely important when it pertains to eating disorders. “Eating Disorder are generally misunderstood by the general public. It not just about young girls trying to be thin, its not about the media, its about something deeper being wrong and mental illness,” shared Matt. “I really encourage people to do some research and learn about this disease to help stop the stigma. People should understand what 10 million people in this country are going through,” said Matt.
This year for National ED Awareness week, Matt wrote a song entitled “Nothing Left to Lose“. He posted this song through Band Camp- a website which allows you to name your donation price for the music you download and make donations to worthy causes. During ED awareness week which is held each year during the last week of February, Matt helped raise $2700 for NEDA and ANAD. He shared that he “plans to donate all proceeds from this song FOREVER to NEDA and ANAD.” “I was humbled by everyone’s generosity, when I saw that we passed $2500 I cried,” shared Matt.
Matt is a professional musician and musical producer. He has four albums and has had songs featured on various TV shows including Scrubs, MTV’s Made, and Tony Braxton’s reality show on the Oxygen network. For more information on his work or to download any of his music please visit his website and blog.
Castlewood Treatment Center is committed to the comprehensive treatment of men with eating disorders. We understand that their are unique differences between men and women who struggle with this disease. Click here fore more information on our approach to treatment.
Written by Deanna James, LPC
Theresa Chesnut, LCSW and I recently sat down to discuss treatment, the recovery process and what she has learned in her 13 years with Castlewood Treatment Center. Theresa has worked with Castlewood Treatment Centers since its inception in 2000. She has devoted her career to helping individuals recover from their eating disorders. She offers a wide range of experience and understanding in her role as a therapist, clinical liaison, and eating disorder specialist. Most recently, Theresa has been working in Monterey Bay, CA , to assist in the startup of Castlewood’s affiliate, Monarch Cove Residential Program. She is the current Vice Chair for the Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA), as well as sits on the Board of the San Francisco Chapter of IAEDP.
One of Theresa’s greatest achievements is her own recovery from an eating disorder. After many years of struggling with an eating disorder, she went to treatment between high school and college and began her recovery journey. Theresa shared that when “I went off to college; I was ill-equipped to handle the transition and exist without my eating disorder. During my course of treatment, because it was the mid 1980’s, no one knew how to adequately treat eating disorders or provide anticipatory guidance to those in recovery. I left treatment and went into college with no skills about how to launch into life without my eating disorder.” Without adequate support or anticipatory guidance, Theresa shared that she had no idea how “ridiculously difficult it was to do things that I used to be natural and proficient at when I was in my eating disorder. Without my eating disorder and compulsive exercise the world was foreign.” What she knows now and shares with her clients is that this is a normal stage in the recovery process. “The eating disorder helps you function to some degree, so without it you have to learn a whole new way of being in the world. But no one told me that, so my perceived failures fueled a ton of self- hate. I kept thinking something was wrong with me,” said Theresa. “What I know now is that there was nothing wrong with me, I just had to develop new skills and learn to use my internal and external resources as I learned how to exist without my eating disorder,” shared Theresa. This is the same transformation that Theresa and all the therapists at Castlewood try to help their clients understand and work towards.
During college, Theresa started support groups, sought out resources and moved into a helping and mentoring role with others affected by eating disorders. After completing her Masters of Arts degree in Clinical Social work she knew she wanted to work with eating disorders and began work at an eating disorders unit in Kansas City. She remembered thinking the experience would “either catapult me into more recovery or cause a quick relapse.” Fortunately it “launched me into a deeper understanding of eating disorders and myself,” said Theresa. Her therapeutic experiences translated into motivation and passion to go out and create resources and treatment she wished had been available to her during her struggle.
When she started at Castlewood in 2000, Theresa felt that she “did not have a frame of reference for what recovery really was.” “I thought recovery was merely symptom abstinence,” said Theresa. When asked to lecture on the recovery process in 2002, Theresa wrote this inspiring definition.
Recovery is not just the absence of symptoms…it is the presence of a full life as evidenced by the ability to be human. A truly recovered life will reflect spontaneity, freedom, the ability to breathe, to have wants, needs and desires, knowing that the quest for perfection is an unattainable illusion. Having the ability to embrace the feminine, having close intimate relationships, and it is being aware of the tears in your eyes (whether out of intense or subtle sadness – or out of joy – or from a flicker of utter gratefulness) and then to allow your tears to flow freely. It is a life in which decisions and choices are made more from self and less from a shame and fear based prison. It is a life where you fully experience pleasure, joy, and passion and believe seeking and desiring enjoyment and passion is not only acceptable but necessary to living a full life.
After defining her own recovery, Theresa finally felt like she “understood the necessary components to recovery and therefore knew how to better guide the clients.” Theresa shared that her past experiences and her eating disorder history have positively influenced her career. She uses that influence to bring together what were the missing pieces for her in her own journey. Theresa revealed that “It is the work with the clients that fuels my passion for assisting people in their own journey and helping to shape a treatment center to truly treat the entirety of a very complex disease. I feel fortunate to be able to witness the struggle and the growth by my continued involvement in the program and my advocacy work in many communities.”
Theresa shared that she is very proud to work for Castlewood Treatment Center. She feels that “being a part of a team that offers clients a framework and format that is a vehicle for recovery is miraculous.” “What I am most proud of about Castlewood is that from day one we have treated every kind of eating disorder, from Anorexia to Binge Eating Disorder, men and women, clients with various sexual orientations, and have treated them entirely- body, mind and soul,” said Theresa. “We have created an environment that is safe, where clients that are men or have an atypical ED can come in and feel as accepted, receive treatment and heal. Castlewood and now Monarch Cove are places where clients can feel safe to do more than just contain symptoms, and regain their life” shared Theresa.
On behalf of Castlewood- Thank you Theresa for your dedication to the treatment of clients who suffer with eating disorders.
Eating Disorder symptoms appear to be on the rise among the college age group. Many students are unaware of the dangers of ED behaviors, others are unaware that treatment and therapy are available and can help. Castlewood is dedicated to providing information and spreading awareness to college counseling services.
Several top universities have partnered with Castlewood Treatment Center this winter to provide continuing education to Counseling and Psychological Services staff members. Our clinicians work to provide information on ways to identify and assess for eating disorder behaviors, treatment options, ways to help motivate students toward change, and ideas for prevention on campus.
In January, Castlewood staff therapist Theresa Chesnut, LCSW spoke at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Around 40 staff members including Counseling and Psychological Services, Student Health physicians and the athletic department attended the event.
As part of Eating Disorder Awareness Week Castlewood is partnering with the Iowa ED Coalition and Iowa State University. Dr. Jim Gerber is providing a two hour continuing education lecture for the Counseling and Psychological Services department at ISU. He will help the department develop a greater understanding of the links between eating disorder, trauma and attachment.
In February and March, Castlewood Treatment Center is sponsoring a lecture series at Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. Stephen’s reports a drastic increase in the number of students presenting with ED behaviors and in conjunction with ED awareness month wants to support ED prevention and awareness. Castlewood is working together with their counseling and psychological services to provide education, prevention and awareness to the student body. Katie Thompson, LPC and Erin McGinty, LPC will be giving lectures on various topics in a series to the entire student body.
Castlewood Treatment Center is proud to help support and sponsor the Southeastern Eating Disorder Conference. The SEED conference will be held in Birmingham Alabama February 21-22, 2013. Castlewood representative Lisa Iken-Sokolik, Director of Regional Outreach will exhibit at the conference. For those attending, please plan to stop by the Castlewood booth! 
The conference features speakers Ralph Carson, Ph.D, Debra Jay, Jessica Setnick, RD, and various other nationally recognized specialists in the treatment of eating disorder. The SEED conference aims to be a part of an evolution in the understanding and treatment of Eating Disorders. Participants will hear current experts in eating disorders, including those with interests in the fields of Western, complementary and alternative medicines, broadening your view about working with Eating Disorders. Castlewood Treatment Center invites you to join us for this information-packed event.
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This May the American Psychiatric Association will release the DSM-V with many changes to the landscape of mental health diagnoses. One of these changes is the inclusion of Binge Eating Disorder as its own distinct eating disorder diagnosis. To mark this change, KMOV, the St. Louis local CBS affiliate, aired a feature on Binge Eating Disorder. Ms. Katie Thompson, a primary therapist at Castlewood Treatment Center was featured as a Binge Eating Disorder Treatment expert and discussed the various options available for treatment. A Castlewood Alumnae was also featured and shared her inspiring story of recovery from Binge Eating Disorder. Castlewood is so proud to be included in this episode of Great Day St. Louis. Thank you to Katie Thompson and our Castlewood Alumnae for sharing your knowledge with the St. Louis community. We hope to get the word out that BED represents the largest class of eating disorder diagnoses, that the DSM-V now includes this as a legitimate diagnosis and treatment is available.
