As more people report eating disorders on campus, Boston University students and faculty can seek a number of resources to get information and treatment about the different illnesses.
According to Office of Residence Life Health and Wellness educator Beth Grampetro, a “significant number” of staff on campus are noticing the problems students have with eating disorders.
Specifically, Grampetro said everyone from faculty to Fitness and Recreation Center employees report potential eating disorder cases on campus.
“Even among the faculty, it is a pretty big concern,” she said. “They’ll come to Residence Life and say, ‘One of my students clearly isn’t eating well,’ or a lot of people at FitRec witness people excessively exercising.”
However, Grampetro said Residence Assistants have the most experience with students regarding possible eating disorder cases.
“The RAs see it the most of anyone because they’re right there, and most students are comfortable with their RA,” she said. “Generally, students go to their RA and tell them first, if they witness a problem or have a problem.”
The Nutrition Club also tries to help inform and educate RAs about warning signs and dealing with residents with potential eating disorders through speakers and a panel, scheduled for Wednesday.
By raising awareness among RAs, the club hopes to have the community be more aware of warning signs and support, Nutrition Club President Sarah Butler said.
Students and faculty have several on-campus options if they are seeking information or treatment for an eating disorder.
While the ORL’s Health and Wellness Center does not provide treatment for students with eating disorders, they do supply information regarding the different illnesses.
BU spokesman Colin Riley said Student Health Services at the university will refer students to other sources for long-term illness treatment.
“Because it is a long-term illness,” he said, “we’ll generally refer them, for the short-term, to a behavioral specialist or the Center for Anxiety or Related Disorders, or to a private physician.”
Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders’s Eating Disorders Program Associate Director Dr. Elizabeth Pratt said the program provides therapeutic resources for students dealing with eating disorders.
“We provide cognitive-behavioral therapy,” she said, “which is an empirically supported treatment that has been demonstrated to help those suffering from all types of eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder.”
The Danielsen Institute, a health clinic that provides psychological and therapeutic care for a variety of illnesses, is also available to students and faculty.
Office Manager Lauren Kehoe said while the Danielsen Institute does not specialize in eating disorder treatment, they do provide therapeutic resources for students.
“For students with eating disorders, we offer individual therapy,” she said. “In the past, we’ve also done a program for students with eating disorders called Making Peace with Food.”
According to Kehoe, the “Making Peace with Food” program was offered last spring and provided education and therapy for those in attendance.
“It was a short-term psycho-educational and interpersonal group around eating issues,” she said.