Welcome!

The aim of our work is to facilitate collaborative relationships among parents and professionals who are working to help children and teens with eating disorders recover. Rather than replicate the many excellent websites and books about eating disorders that are already available, we focus on improving the therapeutic alliance.

Children and teens with eating disorders think that no one understands them and find it difficult to trust anyone, which presents a major obstacle for recovery.  Parents often try to calm their children’s anxieties about food and weight-gain by minimizing expectations for food intake.  In our book A Parent’s Guide to Eating Disorders: Spotting the Stealth Bomber and other Symbolic Approaches, we use analogies and metaphors to crystallize an understanding of eating disorders and crucial aspects of their treatment. The analogies and metaphors help parents understand eating disorders in a way that allows them to ally themselves with treatment rather than with the eating disorder. Professionals may also find our approach increases their understanding of the complex presentations of eating disorders and thereby find it easier to explain them to parents. Children who believe that others grasp their experience find it easier to open up. They feel understood, respected, appreciated, and supported.  This helps decrease their guilt and improves their ability to listen. In this way we provide an effective tool for to improve the therapeutic alliance among professionals, parents, and children.

Dr. Ahmed Boachie is Director of the Eating Disorders Program at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ontario and Staff Psychiatrist at Sick Kids Hospital in Toronto, Ontario.   He is also Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry of the University of Toronto, and Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences of McMaster University. He  has received and been nominated for many teaching, mentoring, and service awards.

Karin Jasper, Ph.D., is Clinical Mental Health Specialist and Research Coordinator in the Eating Disorder Program at Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket Ontario. She is co-editor of Consuming Passions: Feminist Approaches to Weight Preoccupation and Eating Disorders, and author of the children’s book Are You Too Fat, Ginny?

A Parent’s Guide to Defeating Eating Disorders by Ahmed Boachie and Karin Jasper is published by Jessica Kingsley (RRP £12.99, ISBN 9781849051965). To buy a copy at the discounted price of £11.99 please go to the Jessica Kingsley website, or call +44 (0)20 7833 2307. Use the offer code BOAJAS

Order from Amazon in Canada or the U.S. or Caversham Booksellers in Toronto.

 

Learn more about how we use Analogies and Metaphors.

Read an Interview with the authors.

Read Reviews and Endorsements of our book.

Tune in to one of our radio interviews or webinars on Events.

For links to other writings by the authors see Author Resources.

For links to other websites about eating disorders, see Links.