With eating disorders increasingly common among college students, the Boston University Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders should be praised for initiating an eating disorder pilot program this semester. BU as a university must take the center’s lead and address all of its students’ needs, including those that stray beyond academics.
The pilot program hopes to treat students with eating disorders as early as March. While it is only prepared to accommodate 10 to 20 patients at first, the center seems willing to serve more if the need arises. This service is especially needed since the Counseling Center cut back its services to only help transitional needs, rather than medical ones, last spring.
The Counseling Center had a reputation for being far more open and hands-on than the more professional and reserved Mental Health Services. Hopefully the new eating disorder program will help fill the void for one specific group of students who want someone to talk to about their problems.
Students need to have a place they can turn to for help where they can feel comfortable. The new program should strive to reach students with eating disorders in a sensitive and effective way. Also, the center should increase publicity for the program and the center as a whole so students know they have a resource available.
A public service campaign should target the whole student population. College lifestyles notoriously ignore health consequences, and students need to know they are not invincible. Students must realize that what they do to their bodies can permanently damage their health, and sacrificing a good diet can have life-threatening consequences in the case of eating disorders.
Often those with eating disorders try to deny their problem or refuse help. Students need to know what symptoms might indicate that a friend has an eating disorder so they can help those they care about. The Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders should try to provide resources for and reach out to those concerned friends, who are often the only ones who suspect a student has a problem. Students may need advice about how to approach friends who may have an eating disorder, encourage them to get assistance or just support a friend dealing with anorexia or bulimia.
The new eating disorder program should be commended for attempting to address a problem that may afflict many BU students. The sliding-scale payment aspect ensures that many students can afford treatment, although the center should investigate whether health insurance programs might cover some costs or whether other agencies would donate funds to address an important health issue. The pilot program is an important first step, and BU should ensure it is only the first of several.
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