Articles

Extreme Celebrity Diets- by Katie Funk

Extreme Celebrity Diets- by Katie Funk

We see it everyday on TV, in magazines, or on the Internet. Stories of extreme weight loss among celebrities are given major attention in the media. These people are praised and celebrated for their new “healthy” lifestyles and their decreasing dress size, and are presented as role models for our youth. But I can’t help but wonder if these stories are only adding to the unrealistic ideals we hold about weight and body type. Take Jennifer Hudson. She is the spotlight of diet and health in Hollywood right now, and because of her…Read more

How Does a Mother of Three Get High School Skinny? By Lee Harmon

I was driving down the road the other day and I saw something that had me super confused. It was a giant billboard of a beautiful, blonde woman showing off her flat, tanned stomach. On the billboard was the question “How did this mother of three get high school skinny?” And of course there was a business name and a 1-800 number to call. High school skinny? What does that mean? My brain was flooded with all sorts of conflicting emotions. At first I thought the obvious – How DOES a mother of…Read more
Learning to Communicate

Learning to Communicate

Paulson V Veliyannoor, MS Pre-Doctoral Intern/ Clinical Staff Susan B Krevoy Eating Disorder Program Khalil Gibran famously wrote in The Prophet: “In speech, truth is half-murdered.” Well, there is much truth in this statement. Yet the inability to speak may leave the truth fully murdered with its remains leaking through the pores of one’s being. An Eating Disorder is one such leakage which results from, among other things, the difficulty to verbalize one’s needs and feelings. In other words, eating disorder is one form of maladaptive communication. Learning to communicate, then, is one of…Read more
A Cultural Perspective on Gender and Eating Disorders in Group Therapy By: Stephen L Salter, Psy.D

A Cultural Perspective on Gender and Eating Disorders in Group Therapy By: Stephen L Salter, Psy.D

When I began running groups at the SBK Eating Disorders Program, I wasn’t surprised to find I’d be working primarily with women.  I was aware that the epidemic hit women three times harder than men, but I wasn’t sure why.  I knew larger social forces were at play.  After all, The United States fosters more eating disorders than any country in the world.  Many point to the flooding of media images—unrealistic, unhealthy, and grossly underweight ideals of what it mean to be beautiful.  Is it possible to avoid these external influences? Why not…Read more

Acknowledging Needs

Mitzen Black, M.A. Psychology Intern Wright Institute Los Angeles Fuller Graduate School of Psychology As a new staff member at the Susan B. Krevoy Eating Disorders Program, I have noticed how much our patients struggle with acknowledging and expressing their own legitimate needs, both to themselves and to others. In this society that encourages self-sufficiency, it can be very distressing when someone realizes needs that require outside help. Working with this program has confirmed to me the importance of learning about healthy dependency in relationships. One person asking for his or her needs…Read more