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 EDReferral.com Newsletter - January, 2011

Appetite regulating hormones cortisol and peptide YY are associated with disordered eating psychopathology independent of body mass index. Objective: Disordered eating occurs in women at both weight extremes of anorexia nervosa and obesity. Cortisol, peptide YY (PYY), leptin and ghrelin are hormones involved in appetite and feeding behavior that vary with weight and body fat. Abnormal levels of these hormones have been reported in women with anorexia nervosa, functional hypothalamic amenorrhea, and obesity. The relationship between appetite regulating hormones and disordered eating psychopathology is unknown. We therefore studied the relationship between orexigenic and anorexigenic hormones and disordered eating psychopathology in women across a range of weights. Design: Cross-sectional study of 65 women, 18-45 yrs: 16 with anorexia nervosa, 12 normal-weight with hypothalamic amenorrhea, 17 overweight or obese, and 20 normal-weight in good health. Methods: Two validated measures of disordered eating psychopathology, the Eating Disorders Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and Eating Disorders Inventory-2 (EDI-2) were administered. Fasting PYY, leptin, and ghrelin levels were measured; cortisol levels were pooled from serum samples obtained every 20 minutes from 8pm to 8am. Results: Cortisol and PYY levels were positively associated with disordered eating psychopathology including restraint, eating concerns, and body image disturbance, independent of body mass index (BMI). Although leptin levels were negatively associated with disordered eating psychopathology, these relationships were not significant after controlling for BMI. Ghrelin levels were generally not associated with EDE-Q or EDI-2 scores. Conclusions: Higher levels of cortisol and PYY are associated with disordered eating psychopathology independent of BMI in women across the weight spectrum, suggesting that abnormalities in appetite regulation may be associated with specific eating disorder pathologies. Eur J Endocrinol. 2010 Nov 23. [Epub ahead of print]
 

Eating Disorder Recovery Support, Inc. Presents the 5th Annual Eating Disorders Awareness Week Conference - A Fundraising Event for Treatment Scholarship Fund, February 4-6th, 2011 " Pathways to Eating Disorder Recovery." Keynote Speakers: Carolyn Costin MFT and Michael Barrett, Ph.D. - CEUs provided. Please join EDRS for a reception and an inspirational one-woman show by Lindsey Wert, MFTI, " From the Inside Out – Finding My Inner Light" on February 4th, 5:30pm - 7:30pm. Post Conference off site - Healing Arts Workshop—Spirit House: A Multidimensional Arts Project on February 6th, 8:30am - 5:00pm. Location: Petaluma Lucchesi Community Center, 320 North Mc Dowell Road, Petaluma, CA 94954. Fee: $ 75 per day; additional fee for CEU: $ 35 per day. All proceeds from conference fees and donations will be entirely dedicated to the EDRS Treatment Scholarship Fund. For more information or to register please contact EDRS at www.edrs.net or Joan Thompson at sawerspal@aol.com.

San Francisco and Thousand Oaks, CA: Treatment Center News -  La Ventana Eating Disorder Programs.  La Ventana Eating Disorder Programs is an intensive outpatient program with housing accommodations, featuring locations throughout California in San Francisco, San Jose, and Thousand Oaks. La Ventana offers Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient Programs for ages 13 and older featuring comprehensive treatment for anorexia, bulimia, compulsive and binge eating. The PHP/Day program consists of 7 hours per day, 6 days per week with 2 supported meals each day. For those working or attending school there are two Intensive Outpatient schedules to choose from, each 3 ½ hours in length, with 1 supported meal, for 4, 5 or 6 days per week. Both programs include Registered Dietitians that create personalized meal plans, and each client is clinically assessed for an individualized treatment plan to facilitate optimum success. As a service to their day clients, La Ventana offers complimentary staff supervised housing, ensuring a strong recovery for those needing a safe place to live. La Ventana accepts all major insurance and is dedicated to the education and treatment of eating disorders. La Ventana San Francisco is located at 3150 California Street, Suite 6, San Francisco, CA 94115. La Ventana San Jose is located at 1101 S. Winchester Blvd. Suite N-265, San Jose, CA 95128. La Ventana Thousand Oaks is located at 275 E. Hillcrest Drive Suite 120, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360. For more information about all facilities, please call 800-560-8518, or contact Lisette Fraser, Outreach Coordinator directly at lisette@laventanaED.com, or 805-444-8072

THE BUSINESS SIDE: The most effective way to turn referral calls into paying clients
Referrals from EDReferral.com can turn out to be very lucrative and often a source of business income for a lifetime. But these referrals all start out differently than the referrals you receive from another professional. Callers to a referral service frequently start out as shoppers. They want to feel secure in their choice of a therapist and they want to feel that they have selected a therapist who will be able to help them with their problems. Understanding the mind-set of the network caller will help you become more successful in turning that caller into a client.

First, talk to the caller as soon as possible. Set aside some time throughout the day that you can speak directly with potential clients, possibly between appointments. After you have made the initial contact with the caller, let him or her know that you would like to allocate some time in order to talk further when you both are free. Taking 5 to 10 minutes out of your schedule per day will make all the difference in building your practice. Remember that it is always a good idea to devote some time to a new potential client no matter if the referral came from a referral service or another professional.

Second, treat the initial call as a mini therapy session. This mini therapy session has different rules from those of your everyday practice. You want to LISTEN to the caller’s main area of distress and OFFER HOPE that the situation will improve. Ask questions: you do not need to spend 20 minutes talking on the phone to each caller, but you do need to obtain a good overview of the caller’s problem so that you can suggest a mode of therapy that you feel would be helpful. The caller is shopping around and wants to find some professional that will listen and understand the problem and offer some direction to a solution. If you do not offer any hope that he or she will be able to find relief, while some other therapist does, guess where that potential client will end up. Realize that a caller’s self-diagnosis may not be accurate. The caller may have just viewed a program on eating disorders and call you saying, “I am obese.” Remember that whenever a caller gives you a self-made diagnosis over the phone, most of the time they are incorrect. Instead of losing those clients by referring them to someone else, determine for yourself with an initial consultation whether you are able to provide that person with effective therapy.

Third, suggest making an appointment during the initial call. Callers are looking to you for guidance. If you are being very “client-centered” and thus leave the options open, the caller may be at a loss as to what to do. He or she may be waiting for you to suggest a plan. There is no harm in confidently suggesting a beneficial course of action. Remember, the caller is contacting you for help. Be sure and provide an easy path for that caller by suggesting a particular time and date for the first evaluation appointment. Following these suggestions will help you to turn callers who would otherwise be lost into long-term clients.

Don't have a website? You can't play the game unless you get on the court. Having a website is step number one for marketing your practice and attracting new clients. A website is the business card of the 21st century, and not only is it far more effective in bringing you actual new business, it can also make managing your practice easier and more efficient! An effective website gives your potential customers a crucial first impression of you and your practice, so it has to be professional, inviting and content rich. But not just any kind of content will work! It must be the right content. It needs to convey how you can help your potential clients, the services you provide, your rates, and an easy way to schedule an appointment. Provide tools of convenience for your clients, right on your website, after all, who wants to waste time by filling out forms in an office? Post your intake forms on your website so that your clients can then fill them out in advance and bring them to their first appointment. Provide links and resources they can look into, so that your clients will be prepared before arriving in your office. A professional and organized website builds confidence right out of the gate and creates a smooth experience for what might be a person’s first big step toward healing.  Websites can be an easy, cheap and an effective marketing tool. If you get stuck with the wrong people, they can also be overwhelming and very expensive. That's why we are partnering with TherapySites. TherapySites specializes in creating websites designed for therapists that are professional, affordable, and effective. All you pay is a monthly hosting fee--and there are no long-term contracts. They provide credit card processing, appointment requests, search engine optimization, and more - it's all included! You can have all the detail you want to present about yourself, you can have forms for clients to bring to their first session and you can even provide an interactive map to your office. The best thing about a TherapySites website is the extensive Search Engine Optimization that they do for all of their customers so you are found! Then you can link your site to EDReferral and we can link back to you which will help both of us in the search engines. Sign up using promo code: PromoEDR and receive your First Month FREE at www.therapysites.com.