- Psychologists and Assistant Psychologists
- Occupational Therapists and Occupational Therapy Assistants
- Therapists
- Peer Support Workers
- Dieticians
- Administrators
A note on job titles…
We have CBT therapists and Clinical Psychologists working in our team – we may have different job titles, but we all offer therapy. So, for those receiving care within the service, it won’t make a difference whether you are allocated a CBT therapist or Clinical Psychologist for your therapy. Please see the Derbyshire Eating Disorders “Role of Therapists” podcast for further information about the difference between the two roles.
Psychologists and Assistant Psychologists
The key goal of psychological therapy is to help service users to understand their eating disorder and to develop skills to manage it. Therapy is goal driven and individualised to the person and their needs and eating disorder. This means various therapy models may be offered to suit the individual. Therapy can be offered 1:1 or in a group depending on need.
Therapists can support by….
- Supporting service users to understand their eating disorder – such as how it developed and what keeps it going in the present.
- Supporting service users with psychoeducation to learn more about eating disorders.
- Supporting service users to set goals for their treatment and recovery.
- Supporting service users to make dietary changes, often supported with food diaries.
- Supporting service users to monitor their weight.
- Supporting service users with strategies and tools to manage their eating disorder.
- Supporting service users to work on recovery in between therapy sessions through between session tasks.
- Supporting individuals to explore their identity and how their eating disorder impacts this.
- Supporting service users with other difficulties which may appear relevant to the eating disorder if appropriate to the individual e.g., low self-esteem, perfectionism, and difficulties with interpersonal relationships.
Examples therapy models we offer…
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy - Enhanced (CBT-E) – link to ‘treatments’ page with blurb about this
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapy - Ten (CBT-T) (individual or group) – link to ‘treatments’ page with blurb about this
- Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults (MANTRA) (individual or group) – link to ‘treatments’ page with blurb about this
- Specialist Supportive Clinical Management (SSCM) – link to ‘treatments’ page with blurb about this
- We may also offer other evidence-based therapy models e.g., Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)
A note on job titles…
We have CBT therapists and Clinical Psychologists working in our team – we may have different job titles, but we all offer therapy. So, for those receiving care within the service, it won’t make a difference whether you are allocated a CBT therapist or Clinical Psychologist for your therapy. Please see the Derbyshire Eating Disorders “Role of Therapists” podcast (add link here) for further information about the difference between the two roles.
I am an Assistant Psychologist providing clinical support to those with eating disorders using evidence based treatment, including Guided Self-Help and working towards service development. I also work closely with other team members to support the Bulimia Nervosa and FREED pathways.
Occupational Therapists and OT Assistants
The main aim of OT is to help service users to regain a balance of occupations in their life and help them to develop independent skills to manage and recover from their eating disorder. OT intervention plans are completely person-centred and holistic, and goals are led by the individual. OT can also help people to redefine their occupational identity beyond their eating disorder. Interventions can be offered as a 1:1 or in a group setting depending on the individual’s needs.
The Occupational Therapist can support by….
- Supporting individuals to identify meaningful goals.
- Supporting individuals to build a satisfying meaningful routine into their lives.
- Supporting individuals to engage in meaningful and purposeful activities.
- Supporting individuals to re-engage/maintain existing roles and develop new roles to support their recovery.
- Supporting individuals to become more independent with their eating.
- Providing education and coping mechanisms to manage their eating disorder.
- Preparing individuals for life transitions with self-management skills, such as preparing for discharge from hospital or preparing to attend University
Examples of Occupational Therapy Interventions
Practical Skills
- Self-care – compassion focused approach
- Meal planning, budgeting, shopping and meal preparation
- Using public transport/getting out into the community
- Social eating/eating out
- Vocational work (i.e. education/voluntary work/paid employment)
- Roles/routines e.g. Activity scheduling
- Other life skills as necessary
Activity-based interventions
- Hobbies/interests/social – recovery focused
- Use of activity as a therapeutic medium/activity analysis (possibly include sensory activities)
- Creative activities
- Creative mindfulness
Psychosocial skills (as part of an MDT intervention)
- Relaxation/mindfulness/anxiety management
- Motivation
- Confidence/assertiveness building
I am one of two Occupational Therapists within the team. My role is to help our service users to regain a meaningful balance of occupations in their life and develop their self-identity in order to support their recovery from their eating disorder. I have an interest in sensory integration and how sensory modulation strategies might help to support some of our service users to engage in the occupations that they want and need to do.
Peer Support Worker
A Peer Support Worker is someone with lived experience of a mental health challenge; employed to help others struggling with a similar challenge. Peer Support Workers use their background and understanding to empathise with difficulties the service user is facing, offer support and guidance in an informal, patient led manner.
Within the Derbyshire Eating Disorder Service, Peer Support Workers offer a range of guidance and support. They work with an individual that may need support eating during mealtimes, support with food shopping, clothes shopping, socialising or goal setting. The role is varied and entirely open to input and feedback from the service user.
Administrators
The administration team consists of 1 full time, 2 part time administrators and a medical secretary.
Our role is to support the team with all administrative tasks from initial referral through to eventual discharge. We provide a link to the team for patients, families and wider health professionals.
We support the team with all aspects of quality improvement, managing office supplies, maintaining equipment, supporting new team members, staff training and annual leave.
Zoe, our Medical Secretary, provides professional and efficient secretarial support to our two consultants.
