Welcome to the Carer Help Kit
If someone you care about has an eating disorder, you are not alone.
Eating disorders have one of the highest mortality rates of any mental illness.
What information is going to be most helpful for you?
This site aims to provide detailed information on eating disorders, treatment options, and how you can help your loved one.
Designed especially for you.
This site provides helpful, succinct information from a variety of sources.
If you want more information on a particular topic we provide the link. Please don’t hesitate to get in contact if you’re stuck or need a hand.
Eating Disorders are serious.
Some people may struggle with an eating disorder long-term.
It can also become a life threatening illness. So getting the right information and support for you and your loved one as soon as possible is important for recovery.
We have a wealth of content here; please take a moment to read about how we’ve laid out the site.
Navigating this Site
Quick Tips
Our information for Carers page has a section of quick tips; these contain tips as well as general information. This section is always worth reading first.
Video
Most pages have video playlists, often detailing others’ lived experience. These can also all be found at the EDQ YouTube channel.
Additional Readings
These sections are articles which we’ve collected for you. They tend to be more informative and can offer great and valuable insight.
Media
Our media page is a convenient collection of articles, videos and podcasts which also feature on relevant pages throughout the site.
Downloads
We offer publications, papers and booklets as downloadable PDFs. These represent the latest knowledge, presented in short, manageable documents.
A good place to start is our selection of Eating Disorder booklets here.
Publications
We recommend a selection of published books, invaluable to you as a carer. We provide information and links to buying these from EDQ, or via third party online sellers.
See Your Role as Carer and Treatment Options pages.
Reach out
Help is available. If you need assistance, or are interested in any eating disorder services, get in contact.
We can help with more information, referrals and/or arrange an assessment appointment.
About Us
We operate within Eating Disorders Queensland.
While this website is for you as a carer, EDQ provides resources and community to those living with an Eating Disorder throughout Queensland.
More Information
Eating Disorders: Seven tips for Families and Carers.
Click a text area on the image for information and a link to a page with more reading.
Learn as much as you can.
What is an Eating Disorder?
The more you can learn about eating disorders and how to treat them the better you will be able to understand what is happening to the person you are caring for.
Remember who the person is.
The person you care for is not their illness even though it may affect their sense of identity. Help them to realise there is more to them than their eating disorder.
Knowing your role as carer makes life so much easier..
Communicate openly.
Communicate regularly with the person you are caring for and avoid showing judgment and negativity. Encourage them to express how they are feeling.
Talking about the Eating Disorder is the first step.
Stay positive.
Draw attention to the positive attributes of the person you are looking after. Talk about things they enjoy and are good at and talk about and plan for the future.
There are many treatment options available for your loved ones. Read more about how to start the process, and how to navigate your way through.
Make time for yourself.
Caring for a person with an eating disorder is hard. Prioritise regular time for yourself to restore your energy and help you become better equipped to be there for the person you care for.
Be patient.
Recovery takes time, patience and perserverance. Remember there is no ‘quick fix’ for an eating disorder.
There are many treatment options available for your loved ones. Read more about how to start the process, and how to navigate your way through.
Managing Severe and Enduring Eating Disorders (SE-ED) is about improving the quality of life for the person with the eating disorder.
Seek support.
Seeking professional support can reduce the amount of stress you carry and improve your capacity to care for someone with an eating disorder. You don’t need to do it alone.
This website has extensive resources and contacts for other organisations, as well as supportive reading material and links to helpful publications.
Carer Support.
The National Eating Disorders Collaboration is an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Health.
Carers play a crucial role in the care, support and recovery of people with eating disorders.
A carer can be a parent, partner, friend, grandparent, child, sibling, grandchild, neighbour or any other person caring for someone with an eating disorder. Caring for someone with an eating disorder is a big responsibility and comes with considerable personal strain.
Read more
- Gain as much information as you can, starting with the information and links on this website.
- Trust your gut.
- Remember: the person you care about is separate from the eating disorder. Eating disorders are a behaviour and a coping strategy for people but they are not the whole person.
- Seek support – individuals and carer support.
You will find there is a clear step-by-step process to the information and helpful support available for all three key stages of care:
Project History
The Carer Kit (also known as Food for Thought) was funded by a 2015-2016 Partners in Recovery (PiR) Innovation Fund Grant from Brisbane North PHN. The project was jointly managed by The Eating Issues Centre (TEIC) and the Eating Disorders Association (EDA), TEIC and EDA have since merged and are now known as Eating Disorders Queensland (EDQ). The Food for Thought project was designed to improve service integration and promote system reform to support the carers of adults with eating disorders. The project focused on five aspects of service integration and system reform:
(1) Providing improved access to information and resources for carers,
(2) Strengthening carers’ knowledge and skills by providing concrete tools to assist them in navigating the service system,
(3) Improving the carer support community through an online and social media presence,
(4) Increasing the understanding of eating disorders in the primary health network, and
(5) Engaging health professionals and service providers to improve their understanding of the important role of carers in supporting adults with eating disorders.
Interested in the full “Food For Thought” Report, click HERE.
We operate under Eating Disorders Queensland.
Eating Disorders Queensland (EDQ) is a statewide, community-based not-for-profit organisation. We promote positive body image and prevention of eating issues. Supportive therapeutic options for individuals living with eating issues and their families and friends are offered.
Become a Member
Associate members will receive our quarterly e-Newsletters and invitations to various events throughout the year.
Associate members also receive access to our library of eating disorder resources and books.
Membership fees help us to support our clients and family members through counselling, coaching, and other EDQ events throughout the year.
Donate
Donations directly support EDQ to deliver our services.
All donations enable us to help individuals, carers and families. Donations can be one-off or recurring.
Reach Out
If you need help, reach out.
If you need assistance, or are interested in any eating disorder services, get in contact.
We can help with more information, referrals and/or arrange an assessment appointment.
Call us on (07) 3844 6055 |email us here
You can also contact us through Eating Disorders Queensland
Eating Disorders Queensland
89 Sherwood Road, Toowong Qld 4066