Early intervention for eating disorders.

The importance of early intervention.

Early intervention means getting help and support as soon as possible, when you need it. The sooner you get help, the quicker you are likely to recover and without relapse.

Research tells us that people should be treated within the first three years of their illness, yet it takes on average almost three years for people to recognise their symptoms and seek help.

Overtime, people with eating disorders experience changes to their brain, body and behavior and in the earlier stages these changes are more easily reversed. Research shows us that treating people as early as possible leads to better results for eating disorder treatment.

Our multi-disciplinary team works together to help clients along in their journey, whilst also working with families and to deliver the highest standards of wrap-around care. Our goal is always to heal the whole person by addressing the underlying causes of the eating disorder. We provide an unrivalled range of treatments and work with our patients to select the best options for them. Everyone’s recovery looks different, and our programmes recognie and reflect that.

Changing the “not thin enough” rhetoric.

We created Orri because there is a gap in the way we treat eating disorders in the UK.  We believe that early access to treatment is essential and that anyone suffering at any stage of their illness there should be support. 

recent report from the Royal College of Psychiatrists estimates that only 23% of people with eating disorders receive treatment, and only one third of eating disorder cases are detected by healthcare professionals. Beat, the eating disorder charity, discovered that on average people spend 176 weeks waiting for treatment.

A lack of understanding and options for people at an earlier stage of their illness has led to an ingrained rhetoric that people may only qualify for treatment if they are “thin enough” and symptoms are ‘life-threatening’.

All of this is shocking, but especially when you learn that Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder. As such, we’re advocating for better treatment for those suffering with eating disorders and their carers, and providing it.

Ask for support as soon as possible.

You might be reading this because you think there’s something not quite right about your eating habits, but you’re not sure if it is an eating disorder. Either way, it’s really positive you’re looking into it. The best way forward is to ask for support.

Answer the S.C.O.F.F Questionnaire
  • Do you ever make yourself Sick because you feel uncomfortably full?
  • Do you worry you have lost Control over how much you eat?
  • Have you recently lost more than One stone in a three-month period?
  • Do you believe yourself to be Fat when others say you are too thin?
  • Would you say that Food dominates your life?

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