At Mass General Hospital's Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program, our objective is to assist individuals as well as clinicians in finding care for an eating disorder in our program.
Eating Disorders Program
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Frequently asked questions about eating disorders.
Our Approach
Welcome to the website for the MGH Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program. We hope that both clinicians and individuals who are seeking information about our program and about eating disorders more generally will find these web pages both useful and user-friendly.
Our objective in this website is to assist individuals as well as clinicians in finding care for an eating disorder in our program. We recognize that many of you have questions about whether you might need care, what care is likely to help you or your family member, or how to find a clinician. We also know that seeking care for an eating disorder can be intimidating and even off-putting. In fact, we have been alarmed by recent research findings that confirm that a majority of individuals with an eating disorder may never find professional care for their illness.
The reasons for such poor access to care are not fully understood. We know there is good evidence for missed opportunities to initiate care in primary care and other mental health settings. We are especially concerned about evidence that clinicians have difficulty in recognizing eating disorders across diverse populations. We know that many individuals with an eating disorder are reluctant to seek care. We suspect that some of their reluctance may stem from misperceptions about who is at risk for an eating disorder. Although eating disorders have been misconceived as illnesses that mostly affect white girls and women, recent research suggests that the populations at risk for an eating disorder are far more diverse. Both this research and our clinical experience have taught us that the face of an eating disorder has become far more diverse with respect to ethnicity, age, and gender.
Like many eating disorders programs, we are a small group of dedicated clinicians and researchers with vast and still growing collective experience and expertise in the management of eating disorders. Also like many mental health clinicians, we are interested in extending our expertise not only to our patients, but also to other health care professionals. We have begun to address this aspect of our mission by offering opportunities for professional training as well as pro bono case consultation. If you are a clinician, we invite you to avail yourself of these options.
We are delighted that you have reached our website. Please stay tuned for new information on publications and links of interest as well as discussions of eating disorders in the news.
