Support for adults with eating disorders
As well as offering specialist support to those with a severe eating disorder, the Adult Eating Disorders Service also provides dedicated support for mild to moderate eating disorders in adults aged 16 and over.
This support is now available to anyone aged 16 and over registered with a GP practice within the county of Lincolnshire.
If you feel you would benefit from this service you can self-refer using our self-referral form here.
The team will also be working closely with primary care teams, other mental health services and Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise organisations (VCFSEs) to offer additional support to meet people's needs.
How do you know if you need help?
Signs that you might have developed an eating disorder include changes in behaviour around eating. This might include purposely limiting food intake, bingeing (consuming large quantity of food and feeling out of control with this), making yourself sick or misusing laxatives, over-exercising and increased checking, or avoidance, of your body and weight.
These behaviours can be driven by an over-concern around weight, shape and appearance, by a desire for control, or as a means of coping with how you are feeling.
You might like your thoughts around eating and weight become overwhelming, be fearful about weight gain or feel guilt around your eating.
If your difficuties with eating are starting to impact negatively on other areas of your life, such as relationships, education, work and socialising it is likely that you would find this service helpful.
Whilst eating disorders can often develop during adolescence, anyone can develop an eating disorder at any age.
Many of the people we meet have mixed feelings and are unsure whether they are ready to address such problems. We appreciate this can be scary and difficult to trust someone you don’t know. We encourage you to make contact, have a chat and then make a decision about whether you want to work with us.
If you are unsure that you even need help then that is fine too. Don’t be put off asking for advice. Our specialist and caring staff are more than happy to just have a quick chat about your concerns.
It is important however, if you do want help, that you contact us as soon as possible. The sooner we can talk to you, the less likely things are going to deteriorate further and get more serious.
What happens during the assessment process?
Referrals are looked at each day (Monday to Friday) to see whether we will be able to help. Where we are not sure, we will contact you for more information to help us to make that decision with you.
If we think that we are likely to be able to help, we will invite you to have an initial appointment with us where we will talk about your difficulties and experiences in a little more detail.
We will ask questions about your past experiences, what is happening now, as well as more specific questions around how you feel about yourself, as well as your food, eating and other behaviours. We also discuss what your goals are, what you are looking for from the service, as well as potential options for treatment.
If at any time during this process we do not think that we are the right service for you, then we would discuss that with you and signpost you to a service or support which is more helpful for you.
What treatment and support do people get once accepted?
We offer NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) recommended treatments for people with an eating disorder.
The type of treatment is based upon the type of eating disorder someone has, as well as what we think is going to be the most helpful after our assessment with you and gaining a better understanding of your difficulties and needs.
The service mostly offers support in the form of guided self-help and group treatment, using a cognitive behavioural model. We find that although groups can be a daunting thought, they are often helpful as eating disorders can leave people feeling very isolated. Being with others who are struggling in a similar way and understand what it feels like, can help people to feel less alone in addition to providing treatment.
Where groups are not suitable, the service may also offer one-to-one appointments, but we always encourage people to try the group-based treatment if offered first for the reasons given above.
All forms of treatment aim to support people to understand their eating disorder, regularise their eating where necessary and support people to develop a different way of valuing themselves, as well as different ways of coping.
What is FREED?
FREED is an early intervention model aimed at supporting young people, aged 16-25, who have had an eating disorder for less than three years, in order to get rapid access to specialist treatment.
FREED gives special attention to the challenges we know young people face during this time of life and in the early stages of an eating disorder.
We know that the earlier someone receives treatment for their eating disorder, the shorter the duration of difficulty and the more successful treatment and more lasting recovery is likely to be.
The FREED pathway offers evidence-based treatment and has been proven to be effective in supporting young people with a relatively short illness duration to recover from their eating disorder.
If we feel you meet the criteria for FREED we'll get in touch with you soon after your assessment to discuss options.
Self-referral form
Please use the form below to complete a self-referral to the service.
