A leading provider of eating disorder treatment in Woking

Eating disorders are complex conditions that are characterised by disrupted eating habits and an overwhelming obsession with weight, body shape, and appearance. An individual with an eating disorder may become preoccupied with controlling their weight and food intake, causing them to develop harmful behaviours when it comes to food and nutrition. Some of these unhealthy behaviours may include:

• Limiting the amount of food that is consumed on a daily basis
• Eating excessive amounts of food in one sitting
• Trying to control weight and food via harmful methods such as induced vomiting, laxative abuse and excessive exercise
• A combination of the above

The destructive eating habits that are associated with eating disorders can be extremely detrimental to an individual’s physical and mental health, and can even result in death.

Our eating disorder specialists are able to treat all of the most common types of eating disorder, as well as eating disorders that are more atypical in nature. These include:

Anorexia nervosa

Anorexia is characterised by an obsession with being as thin as possible, a refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an overwhelming fear of gaining weight. In addition, anorexia sufferers typically have a distorted body image, and often hold a genuine belief that they are fat, even when presented with evidence to the contrary. Because anorexia causes people to become fixated on keeping their weight as low as possible, sufferers may resort to unhealthy behaviours to try and achieve this, such as starving themselves, exercising excessively, making themselves vomit or abusing laxatives.

Anorexia is most common in young women between the ages of 14 and 25 years old. However, anyone can struggle with this eating disorder, despite their age, gender or background.

For further details on anorexia treatment at Life Works, please call 0800 840 3219.

Bulimia nervosa

Bulimia typically causes people to engage in episodes of excessive overeating (known as binge eating), whereby individuals eat a huge amount of food in one sitting, followed by episodes of ‘purging’ in which they make themselves vomit or take laxatives in order to try and ‘counteract’ their bingeing behaviour. These binge-purge cycles are often triggered by hunger, stress or anxiety, and because the cycles don’t result in significant changes to an individual’s weight, bulimia can often go unnoticed.

Bulimia can affect men and women of any age, but it is more common amongst girls and women between the ages of 15 and 25 years old.

For further details on bulimia treatment at Life Works, please call 0800 840 3219.

BED

BED causes people to binge eat on a regular basis, often in an uncontrollable manner, even when they aren’t hungry. However, unlike bulimia, BED is not associated with any purging behaviours such as induced vomiting or laxative abuse, and therefore, can result in individuals becoming obese and struggling with further complications and health problems.

Research indicates that BED affects both men and women equally, and has been found to be more common between the ages of 20 and 40 years old.

For further details on BED treatment at Life Works, please call 0800 840 3219.

OSFED

OSFED, also widely known as ‘atypical eating disorders’, are characterised by some of the irregular eating habits that are associated with anorexia, bulimia and BED, but they do not meet the exact requirements that are needed in order to receive a formal diagnosis. An individual may be struggling with OSFED if they display the following:

• Having a low weight but one which is slightly above the weight threshold for a diagnosis of anorexia
• Binge eating and/or purging happens intermittently
• Having an obsession with their weight, appearance and body shape, but no other symptoms
• Being extremely underweight as a woman, but menstruation (periods) still takes place

Many people who have OSFED have struggled with anorexia, bulimia or BED in the past, or may go on to be diagnosed with one of these conditions in the future.

For further details on OSFED treatment at Life Works, please call 0800 840 3219.

Our eating disorder programme is suitable for adults (both male and female) with a body mass index (BMI) of 14.5 and over. We use a range of tried and tested therapeutic interventions at Life Works, all of which are evidence-based and have been found to be effective in promoting a sustainable recovery from these debilitating conditions.

Free eating disorder assessment

As an initial step, we offer a free eating disorder assessment to better understand the eating disorder that you are facing and to assess your suitability for the eating disorder programme at Life Works. This initial assessment consists of dietetic, therapeutic and GP assessments.

We also offer:

• Inpatient, day care or outpatient treatment options. Inpatient eating disorder treatment typically lasts for between 28 and 42 days (although this can be longer if needed), and our day care and outpatient offerings can be used as either step-down options once you have completed comprehensive residential treatment, or as an entry-point to treatment, depending on your unique condition, needs and requirements
• Evidence-based eating disorder therapy delivered in a number of different formats including:
  • Group therapy
  • 1:1 therapy
  • Family therapy
• A variety of practical dietetic techniques, designed to help to gradually expose you to the concepts of healthy eating, diet and nutrition. These include:
  • Personalised meal plans
  • Weekly shopping groups
  • Weekly cooking groups
  • Weekly psycho-educational groups, specific to eating disorders
• A range of therapeutic approaches which are specific to eating disorder clients:
• The Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults (MANTRA)
• Body image/acceptance groups
• Dance and movement psychotherapy groups
• Understanding emotions groups
• Relapse prevention groups
• Meal and post-meal support, with input from the full multidisciplinary team
• Other therapeutic interventions which can be used for both eating disorder and addiction clients:
  • Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) informed groups
  • Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) informed groups
  • Art informed therapy
  • Shiatsu
  • Mindfulness
  • Drama therapy
• Access to Anorexics and Bulimics Anonymous (ABA) meetings, if clients wish to attend these sessions
• Weekend leave opportunities available for clients nearing the end of their inpatient treatment programme, in preparation for discharge
• A comprehensive family programme for clients who stay for 28 days or more
• Aftercare support is provided either at nearby Priory Hospital Woking, or in another Priory hospital, selected according to clients’ commitments and location. Free aftercare is available for 12 months for clients who stay for 28 days or more

In addition, due to the fact that we are a relatively small centre, with a very close-knit, ‘family feel’, even though eating disorder treatment is predominantly group-based, clients still receive lots of one-to-one support and a truly individualised treatment experience.

You can read more about eating disorder treatment on our approach to eating disorder treatment page.

Our exceptional team consists of leading experts in the field of eating disorders, and each member possesses extensive clinical experience in the treatment and management of these complex conditions. We are able to deliver a diverse range of established eating disorder therapy techniques, as well as offering dietetic and nutritional input to help you to overcome your unhealthy eating behaviours. All treatment is individually tailored according to your unique condition, symptoms and requirements and we ensure that you are placed at the heart of your treatment journey in order to produce sustainable, positive outcomes.

Our dedicated team consists of:

• Consultant psychiatrists
• Therapists
• Registered nurse
• Healthcare assistants
• Nutritionist
• Dietitian
• Complementary therapist
• Wellbeing practitioners

We are also supported by a team of GPs at nearby St John’s Health Centre, to further assist with clients’ physical health needs.

The signs and symptoms of an eating disorder vary according to the type of eating disorder that you are struggling with, and can manifest differently in different people. However, the following are all common signs and symptoms that a destructive eating disorder may be present:

• Abnormally low or high body weight
• An obsession with your physical appearance and other people’s perception of your body
• Believing that you are fat when other people say that you are thin
• An obsession with food and calories, and feeling as though food has taken over your life
• Feeling as though you have lost control over your eating habits
• Experiencing stress during mealtimes
• Experiencing guilt and shame when you eat
• A desire to eat alone or in secret

You can read more about the signs and symptoms of the different eating disorders that we are able to treat, by accessing the links below:

• Signs and symptoms of anorexia nervosa
• Signs and symptoms of bulimia nervosa
• Signs and symptoms of BED
• Signs and symptoms of OSFED

For further information on how Life Works can help you to overcome your eating disorder, call us today on 0800 840 3219, or send us an email; our dedicated experts will be able to advise on the next steps to receiving treatment. For GPs and referrers looking to make a referral, please click here.