Eating disorder advice from headspace

Jessy and Tiegan from headspace were on the radio talking about eating disorders; the best time to get help and what to do if you or someone you know has disordered eating.  

You can listen to the whole interview here:

When to get help  

“At headspace we always suggest coming in before things really escalate with young people and their families” said Jessy Chiswell, Acting Clinical Operations Manager for headspace Darwin.   

“What we understand about young people and disordered eating is that it has such a big impact on young people and their families,” she said.  

Tiegan Holtham is an eating disorders clinician at headspace and agrees getting help early is best. “When we treat young people within the first 12 months of their journey, up to 85-90% of people can recover. This means it’s important if families are concerned, they act on those concerns as quickly as they can.” 

What to expect  

“We are able to see young people generally within two weeks and we don’t need a doctor to be involved. To start off with we will talk to the young person and their families to find out what their needs are and go from there,” said Jessy, who encourages anyone aged 12-25 to visit headspace to start their journey.  

If parents are concerned, Tiegan suggests “Talk to your young person and try to get a handle on what is happening. Express your concerns and really try to listen. I definitely find if parents are concerned it’s worth reaching out – book an appointment with the GP or connect with headspace.” 

How to get involved  

On the headspace website you will see lots of ways to get involved. They have a no wrong door policy, which means everyone is welcome. The welcome pack explains everything.  

Online: 
eheadspace.org.au
www.headspace.org.au 

Phone & Email: 
Darwin  (08) 8931 5999 headspacedarwin@anglicare-nt.org.au
Palmerston (08) 8931 5900 headspacepalmerston@anglicare-nt.org.au
Katherine (08) 8912 4000 headspace.katherine@anglicare-nt.org.au 

NT headspace websites: 

Darwin: https://headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/darwin/ 

Palmerston: https://headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/palmerston/  

Katherine: https://headspace.org.au/headspace-centres/katherine/  

Other resources: 

Butterfly Foundation https://butterfly.org.au/ 

National Eating Disorders Collaboration https://nedc.com.au/