Eating disorders – including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder – affect as many as 5 million Americans every year. While eating disorders typically affect females, males make up as much as 25 percent the total population of people with eating disorders.
At Rogers, we look to science to inform our treatment approach. Within the past few years, numerous research studies have shown that Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) has been an effective tool to help people with eating disorders challenge their patterns of thinking and behaviors that cause and maintain their eating disorder, such as restricting, binging, purging and self-harm.
The observance of National Recovery Month, according to SAMHSA(Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration), promotes the societal benefits of prevention, treatment, and recovery for mental and substance use disorders, celebrates people in recovery, lauds the contributions of treatment and service providers, and promotes the message that recovery in all its forms is possible.
One of the benefits of residential treatment for eating disorders is the structure and support that is built in to every activity, including meal and snack times. Sarah Biskobing, RD, CD, a dietitian at Rogers Memorial Hospital’s Eating Disorder Center, said that these times can be one of the most anxiety provoking parts of a patient’s day. As a result, there is always a treatment team member available to support them as they learn to adapt to normal eating habits.
Rogers Memorial Hospital is proud to continue its tradition of commemorating Mental Health Month. For over 50 years, the nationwide observance of this month has reached millions of Americans with important messages about mental health.
Surgeons are showing slightly higher instances of alcohol-use disorders (15%) compared to the general population (8-12%), according to a recent study published in the Archives of Surgery. Those who responded reported drinking behaviors that could be categorized as full-fledged abuse or dependence. The study’s lead author, Dr. Michael Oreskovich, said that he hopes that by showing the high percentage of surgeons who have a problem will help destigmatize the illness and result in more physicians coming forward in future polls.
Michael M. Miller, MD, FASAM, FAPA, medical director of the Herrington Recovery Center, gave his impressions of the study and shared some thoughts about how to best address the problem of substance-use disorders with physicians.
In August 2011, the experiential therapy staff welcomed patients to the new facility and its many offerings. In April 2012, the doors opened to our new inpatient building, delivering an unparalleled treatment option for patients and their families.
Well before the ground broke in February 2011, the plans for the new inpatient facility at Rogers were being developed to deliver patient-centered care in a new and carefully designed environment. Accessibility, privacy and patient safety were woven into every feature and furnishing chosen for the new facility. Feedback from countless patients, families and staff were considered as the new facility began to materialize, first on paper, then in brick and mortar.
Some of the most powerful experiences our patients have during their treatment stay are in our art studios, the fitness rooms or on our ropes course.
Experiential therapies are a hallmark of Rogers Memorial Hospital’s residential and inpatient programs. Our patients not only work with master’s prepared clinicians and board-certified physicians, they also work with highly trained experiential therapists who facilitate treatment not just through talk, but also through non-verbal means of expression.
Tina Szada, ATR-BC, an art therapist at Rogers’ residential Eating Disorder Center in Oconomowoc, recently participated in a mannequin art competition that illustrates the power of a non-verbal treatment experience.
At 15 years old, Erika* thought she had found a great way to lose weight over the summer and stay healthy. At first, she received compliments on how she looked and how active she had become. But eventually, her friends knew something wasn’t right.
“They noticed that I was throwing away my lunch. They noticed that I was distracted, isolated, that I walked around during lunch,” said Erika. Her friends tried to drop hints that the way she had been eating and been taking care of herself was, in fact, an eating disorder.
Representatives from Rogers Memorial Hospital, its boards of directors, medical leadership and local officials gathered on March 14 officially open the doors to Rogers’ new inpatient facility and experiential therapy center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in the new gymnasium. The facilities were built as a result of input from patients and Roger’s dedication to delivering the highest quality of patient-centered care.
The ceremony marked the completion of the first two phases of a patient-centered construction project that started in February 2010 and will be completed later in 2012 with the grand opening of the residential facility for children and adolescents.
