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Understanding Eating Disorders
Eating disorders usually begin with someone trying to cope with difficult emotions or circumstances,
without a healthy means of adequately processing what they are going through. You may try to stay
in control by dietary discipline, focus on attaining a perfect figure, or seek comfort through bingeing
favourite foods: malnutrition can suppress emotions, or eating for pleasure give a temporary high to
medicate low mood or make up for restriction. Low self-esteem, poor body-image, perfectionism or
a sense of being out of control are often factors. Other E.D.s can develop as obsession with eating
only particular types of food. Negative patterns of thought, emotion and behaviour take over and
the Eating Disorder ‘voice’ can become all-consuming and controlling, affecting every aspect of your
life, including relationships and the ability to work or enjoy life.
Eating Disorders manifest in several very different ways. For more about these please see ‘What we
Treat’ page on the Eating Disorder tab dropdown.
When We Need Help
Time, in eating disorder recovery, is of the essence, and the timely advice and support of specialist Psychotherapists and Dieticians working in co-ordination, can be vital. The longer an eating disorder goes unaddressed, the more deeply rooted fears and habits of thought and behaviour become, so the recovery journey becomes more difficult.
If you suspect you have an eating disorder or are on the brink of one, it is best to seek help immediately. At Flourish, we take anyone who has a concern around their eating with no need for a diagnosis. If you have had an eating disorder for a long time or are very unwell, we can still help you. We always seek to work in conjunction with your GP for eating disorders, so that we know you are being monitored for physical risks associated with the illness and kept safe.
Our Approach
At Flourish, we are well aware of the complexity of eating disorders, and that they have multiple underlying factors which need to be addressed for full recovery to be achieved. We begin with an assessment which takes into account the individual’s history and needs from a holistic bio-psycho-social perspective. We have a multi-isciplinary team of clinicians so we can offer you treatment for the Eating Disorder mentality alongside specialist dietary guidance, therapy for psychological difficulties or underlying trauma, and teach you healthy coping skills for relapse prevention.
The people around us play a big part in most of our lives, so we also offer Family sessions for parents / partners or others who might be able to help you in recovery or need some support themselves. These can also be communication sessions as relationships can become very difficult when you have an Eating Disorder.
To ensure your treatment is as productive as possible, if you have more than one therapy we will arrange regular meetings for your therapists to discuss your needs and progress to ensure a coordinated approach.
Eating Disorders
Flourish Therapies offers a multi-disciplinary team of Specialist Nurse Therapist, Nutritional Therapist, Eating Disorder Coach, Hypnotherapy/NLP/EMDR/EFT Therapist, CBT Therapist and a CBT Therapist/Social Worker, Clinical Psychologists, qualified nurses, psychotherapists, counsellors and dieticians.
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Our practitioners work with GPs, Practice Nurses, Consultant Psychiatrists, Social Workers, CMHT and any other services relevant to the individuals’ treatment needs. Family sessions are offered where appropriate, and loved ones are invited to be involved from the outset in supporting the recovery process.
Care Packages
Flourish Therapies eating disorder treatment service is designed to provide treatment and support for individuals experiencing eating distress or weight management issues. The service is provided on an outpatient basis, using the stepped care model to offer different levels and intensities of treatment dependent on each individual at the appropriate stage of their recovery.
Care packages are based on a 12 week period, and are reviewed continually at the end of this time frame. An individual would typically spend one 12 week period at each level of treatment, but more, or less, may be required and this will be decided by their therapist in discussion with the client. Prior to commencement of treatment, Flourish Therapies must receive a referral from one of the following clinicians: GP, Social Worker, Psychiatrist, the Community Mental Health Team or a self referral for private clients.
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On receipt of a referral form, we will request funding/payment, and once this is confirmed, your treatment at Flourish Therapies can commence. The first appointment will always be an in-depth assessment, to explore a client’s presentation, and how our service can best fulfil their needs.
We do things differently to benefit you
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Offer person centric specialist treatment utilising a skilled and experienced multi-disciplinary team of mental health and wellbeing practitioners.
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Have the experience and expertise of ex-sufferers on our clinical team.
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Believe a recovery focused way of working is a benefit to NHS providers and commissioners. We aim to work in partnership and offer a collaborative approach to delivering care. Breathe’s outcomes evidence a reduced impact on inpatient and community services, therefore, reducing costs for the local and national government.
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Offer added value through our sister charity S.E.E.D, further reducing cost and impact on General Practitioners (GP’s).
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Provide value for money services.
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Deliver a treatment approach that follows the Nice Guidelines for eating disorder treatment.
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No long waiting lists.
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Offer assessments within a week of referral. Treatment commenced within one further week.
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Promote recovery and early intervention, positively affecting the client prognosis.
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Offer regular client updates to General Practitioners (GP’s) and commissioners, and communication of client needs throughout their treatment.
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Work collaboratively with other professionals ensuring a smooth service user experience in transition of services and throughout treatment where other disciplines are involved in client care.
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Address the targets of the:
+ Health of the Nation around mental health, healthy weight and wellbeing
+ Vision of Lancashire County Council
+ Indicators in the NHS Outcomes Framework five domains of health and wellbeing targets of the NHS
Stepped Care Approach
Flourish Therapies is proud to present our stepped care approach, based on the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) and Kings College London Guidelines.
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We work collaboratively with GP’s and our sister organisation Support and Education for Eating Disorders, for adults experiencing eating distress and requiring outpatient treatment. Flourish Therapies' service is in line with CQC regulations and is currently working towards accreditation for the Quality, Innovation, Productivity and Prevention programme.
Flourish Therapies offers a stepped care approach using 5 levels of treatment package, ranging from intense complex needs, through to aftercare and recovery maintenance.
The transition through the different levels of treatment is determined by a collaboratively working clinical team regularly undertaking risk assessments, based on the client’s physical, mental and emotional health.
Multi Disciplinary Team meetings are held regularly with a team of clinical practitioners, specialised in eating disorders and associated mental health, to discuss and review the client’s progress and individual needs.
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Flourish Therapies' recovery focused way of working, is a benefit to NHS providers and commissioners, as Breathe’s outcomes evidence a reduced impact on inpatient and community services and therefore reduce costs for local government.
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The close collaborative working between our clinical team and external clinicians such as the client’s GP, ensures that the transition through different levels of care, to discharge is smooth, effective, and transparent throughout.
Registered Address: Ribblesdale House, 14 Ribblesdale Place, Preston PR1 3NA
©2024 by Flourish Therapy Clinic. Company number: 14374958