Featured Organization: The F.R.E.E.D. Speaking Tour 2010-2011!

On The F.R.E.E.D. Speaking Tour, Kathleen MacDonald shares her empowering story of overcoming a 16 year long battle with disordered eating, bulimia, anorexia, exercise bulimia, and body dislike. Her presentation offers an intimate look into the journey of recovering from these issues without glamorizing the horrendous efforts that she and so many others undertake in an attempt to achieve the “perfect body”.

Kathleen speaks practically, to dispel the oftentimes enigmatic perceptions of “eating disorders” and addresses the societal complacency of dieting and body dislike that ravages the lives of so many women and men on college campuses nationwide. She delivers a message of hope that it IS possible to truly love your body, as well as a message of urgency for a call to action to address eating and body image disorders at all levels of severity. Countless people have shared that as a result of hearing Kathleen’s story they have uncovered courage to seek help and healing from their own battles of body image and disordered eating issues. Kathleen’s presentations also address: media influence on bodies and self-esteem, signs and symptoms of eating and body image issues, exercise abuse, ways to help a friend or loved one who might be suffering, how to get help, eating disorder activism, and more.

To book F.R.E.E.D. at your school, or to learn more about the presentations: please call: 202.203.0999
or email: kathleen@freedfoundation.org

What are people saying about Kathleen's presentations?

“…I had the honor and pleasure of speaking with Kathleen at a Congressional Briefing in April, 2008. I wish that every patient I have ever treated, every family member, and every clinician who works with eating disorders could hear her speak. Her disarming honesty unveils the lengths to which the anxiety associated with anorexia nervosa can drive someone to deceive themselves and the ones they love. Her honesty, compassion, and humor demystify eating disorders. She helps us understand and be less fearful of a disorder that we know can take lives. When she spoke at the briefing, I cried, not because of the sadness of her story, but out of joy that she was alive to help others discover the path to life that she had found…” –Cynthia M. Bulik, PhD, FAED, Jordan Distinguished Professor of Eating Disorders, Director, University of North Carolina Eating Disorders Program, Past-President, Academy for Eating Disorders, Vice-President, Eating Disorders Coalition

“…Kathleen does a wonderful, deeply personal and revealing presentation –using a most appropriate, non-glamorizing approach. She really reaches people and she is such an example of recovery and of the healing role of activism- absolutely inspirational. While her message reaches anyone, she is so clear about how her eating disorder affected her college experience; it is especially poignant for students to hear. The clear message is that people can get better and find themselves, despite the power of the illness in their lives. I consider her a trusted friend as well as a remarkable resource for our field. I would encourage your students/administration to try their hardest to get Kathleen to your campus…” –Margo Maine, Ph.D. FAED; Author of: Effective Clinical Treatment of Eating Disorders: The Heart of the Matter; The Body Myth: Adult Women and the Pressure to Be Perfect; Father Hunger: Fathers, Daughters, and the Pursuit of Thinness; Body Wars: Making Peace with Women's Bodies

“…from my point of view, and I think what is truly most helpful and was so powerful, was when you explained the games, the self deception etc. Being completely recovered is a whole different ball game and I felt your discussion of what that really means, and the process you had to go through to get there is the important take away message…” –Amy Dennis, Ph.D., Board of Directors, National Eating Disorders Association

__________________________________________________________
The F.R.E.E.D. Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating eating disorders.

The F.R.E.E.D. Foundation Mission Is:

* To provide individuals the financial support needed for the treatment of
eating disorders.
* To provide public awareness and educational resources about the
serious detriment of eating disorders.
* To advocate for the acknowledgment and acceptance of eating
disorders as a serious and urgent disease.

The theme for the photo contest is the NEDA 2010 Conference Theme: "Building Bridges to Recovery."

Deadline: July 30th.

If you are chosen as the winner of this contest, your photo may be used to promote our conference, it will be prominently displayed at the conference and you will be entered in a lottery to win cool NEDA Gear, including a NEDA T-shirt, water bottle, and more!

Thank you for your help in “Building Bridges to Recovery!”

Becoming an Embodied Therapist: Accessing the Language of the Body in Treatment

September 23, 2010 - Brooklyn, NY

This all day seminar offers the opportunity for professionals to learn how to discover and trust their innate ability to "attend" empathically, respond authentically, and translate non-verbal experiences into cognitive insights. Experiential body/mind exercises based on dance/movement therapy principles will be used along with didactic presentation, to integrate a more embodied approach into traditional psychotherapy theory and practice. Participants will learn how embodied methods can be used to treat eating disorders and trauma, with special focus on how to:
· Be more fully present and congruent.
· Facilitate a somatic state of readiness
· Become a more embodied therapist
· Apply nonverbal concepts and techniques that deepen the process of expression and communication.
· Utilize treatment techniques based on mind/body congruity to deal with entrenched body-image problems and other issues underlying treatment of eating disorders, addiction and trauma.
· Define and understand the importance of developing a positive body image.
· Track the process of therapy so as to not become lost in the experience of attending.

Susan Kleinman, MA, BC-DMT, NCC, is the dance/movement therapist for The Renfrew Center of Florida. Susan is a trustee of the Marian Chace Foundation, a past president of the American Dance Therapy Association, and a past Chair of The National Coalition for Creative Arts Therapies. She is a co-editor of The Renfrew Center Foundation’s Healing Through Relationship, serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, and has published extensively on the use of dance/movement therapy in the treatment of eating disorders. She was the American Dance Therapy Association recipient of the 2009 Outstanding Achievement Award, and is a frequent presenter at national and international conferences.

This seminar is being sponsored by the American Dance Therapy Association as part of their 45th Annual Conference, Creating the Mind-Body Mosaic: Theory, Research and Practice in Dance/Movement Therapy. The ADTA ( Provider #5739) is recognized by the National Board of Certified Counselors ( NBCC) and will offer six continuing education hours for attendance at this seminar.

For more information, please contact The American Dance therapy Association: 410/997-4040,
E mail Gloria@ADTA.org or The Renfrew Center of Florida: Susan kleinman: 954/698-9222, ext 2087 or E mail Skdmt2@bellsouth.net.

@ Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC (Director @ Eating Disorder Hope)

Eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder and compulsive overeating are complex disorders with many contributing factors. Biological, social, spiritual and physical factors are all involved in the development and continuation of an eating disorder. There are no simple answers to overcoming an eating disorder, but there are many helpful recovery tools that a person can develop to become healthier and to lessen the need to rely on disordered eating behaviors to comfort or distract them from themselves. One significant tool is learning to self soothe oneself.

The ability to self soothe is one of the most essential tools a person can use in an eating disorder recovery treatment regimen. Self soothing is also beneficial in treating related dual diagnosis issues like addiction and other compulsive behaviors that are often co-occurring with eating disorders. What is self soothing? Where do people learn how to do it? How is it done? Why is important? And, perhaps most importantly, why is this skill worth developing in an eating disorder recovery treatment plan?

The skill of self soothing can be acquired by developing a kind and gentle approach to oneself. Those adept at comforting themselves know how and when to rest, to cut themselves some slack. They are kind and gentle with themselves, loving themselves unconditionally and treating themselves with all the respect and care they deserve. Who doesn't want more of that good stuff?

Follow us on our blog :(http://collegeeatingdisorderhope.blogspot.com/)and also become a charter member of the Eating Disorder Hope College Club today!

Eating Disorder Hope, the one stop resource for eating disorder treatment, information and recovery tools invites you to add this positive, uplifting and pro recovery blog and club to your recovery treatment plan or to further learn about eating disorders, treatment and recovery.

We also invite you to share your experience, strength and hope here. You will find acceptance, support and the encouragement you need to embark on your personal eating disorder recovery journey.

Men and Women Needed for UT Southwestern Medical Center Research. Men and women with anorexia nervosa or other eating disorders are invited to participate in a study about the neurological and genetic basis of eating disorders. Inclusion Criteria: ages 8-70 years of age, males and females, all races and ethnicities, outpatient, inpatient, or partial hospitalization patients, capable of providing informed consent. Study Participation Involves: clinical interview, questionnaires and short quizzes, short blood draw if participating in DNA study For more information or to enroll in this study please email: edresearch@utsouthwestern.edu

Views on Recovery Experience Study
Recovering from anorexia is difficult and each person’s experience is very different. Deakin University is conducting a project looking at your experience. We are inviting both males and females over the age of 18 who are currently recovering from anorexia to be involved. This study involves you completing five brief confidential online questionnaires now (should take approx. 30mins) and again in two weeks. If you are interested in more information follow the link below or contact Jacqueline Woerner on (03) 52278426 or email jrwoerne@deakin.edu.au