how can we learn to love our bodies?

how can we learn to love our bodies? | the body haters | vulnerable women | preventing body dissatisfaction | help & info

by Jenny Bryan

help and info

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organisations

The Anna Freud Centre
21 Maresfield Gardens
London NW3 5SD
Tel: 020 7794 2313 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, answerphone available)
E-mail: info@annafreud.org
Website: www.annafreudcentre.org
Helps children and families with behavioural and emotional problems.

British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
BACP House
15 St John's Business Park
Lutterworth
Leicestershire LE17 4HB
Tel: 0870 443 5252 (Mon-Fri 8.45am-5pm)
E-mail: bacp@bacp.co.uk
Website: www.bacp.co.uk
BACP can provide you with a list of private counsellors in your area, plus information on counselling and choosing a counsellor.

Careline
Cardinal Heenan Centre
326 High Road
Ilford IG1 1QP
Tel: 0845 122 8622 (Mon-Fri 10am-1pm and 7-10pm)
E-mail: info@carelineuk.org
Website: www.carelineuk.org
Provides confidential telephone counselling for children, young people and adults on any issue including eating disorders, depression, loneliness, anxieties and phobias. The website has a forum and an online counselling portal.

ChildLine
Helpline: 0800 11 11 (24 hours, every day)
Textphone: 0800 400 222 (9.30am-9.30pm weekdays; 11am-8pm weekends)
Website: www.childline.org.uk
24-hour helpline for children and young people, free from landlines and mobile phones. Trained volunteer counsellors provide comfort, advice and protection. Lines can be busy so please try again if you don't get through the first time. Young people can write to the following address and don't need to use a stamp: ChildLine, Freepost NATN1111, London E1 6BR.

beat (formerly Eating Disorders Association)
103 Prince of Wales Road
Norwich NR1 1DW
Adult Helpline: 0845 634 1414 (Mon-Fri 10.30am-8.30pm and Sat 1-4.30pm)
E-mail: help@b-eat.co.uk
Youthline: 0845 634 7650 (Mon-Fri 4.30-8.30pm and Sat 1-4.30pm)
E-mail: fyp@b-eat.co.uk
Website: www.b-eat.co.uk
Campaigning organisation that provides information, advice and publications on all aspects of eating disorders. Operates a UK-wide telephone helpline and a youthline for information, help and support if you're aged 18 years and under. There is also a webzine, message board and chat room on the website.

YoungMinds
48-50 St John Street
London EC1M 4DG
Tel: 020 7336 8445 (Office only, Mon-Fri, 9.30am-5.30pm)
Parents Information Service: 0800 018 2138 (Mon & Fri 10am-1pm; Tue-Thur 1-4pm and Wednesday evenings from 6pm-8pm)
E-mail: enquiries@youngminds.org.uk
Website: www.youngminds.org.uk
Campaigning to improve mental health services for children and young people and providing information to anyone with concerns about the mental health or emotional wellbeing of a child or young person. Can give details of local and national advice agencies and leaflets for young people.

websites

Food fixations
www.ivillage.co.uk/pregnancyandbaby
/toddler/todnutrit/articles/0,9547,50_170350,00.html
Discusses the importance for parents to pass on the right messages about body image to their children.

How Good Is Your Body Image?
www.netdoctor.co.uk/testyourself/facts/body_image.asp
Short online test compiled by Deanne Jade, principal of The National Centre of Eating Disorders, to see what your body image is like.

Families Online: Is there too much pressure to be thin?
www.familiesonline.co.uk/article/static/259/
This article looks at how poor body image affects boys and girls and considers the causes of this.

National Centre for Eating Disorders
www.eating-disorders.org.uk
An independent organisation set up to provide solutions for all eating problems, compulsive or binge eating, 'yo-yo' dieting, bulimia and anorexia. Offers information, counselling and professional training.

National Eating Disorders Association
www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
Informative US-based site that features information on eating disorders, and includes articles on ways to improve body image and steps parents can take to help prevent eating disorders.

Weight Concern
www.weightconcern.org.uk
Aims to address the rising problem of obesity and both the physical and psychological health needs of overweight people.

Worries about weight
www.rcpsych.ac.uk/...
Aimed at young people, this factsheet from the Royal College of Psychiatrists discusses body image, eating disorders and how to have a healthy body weight.

reading

	101 Ways to Help Your Daughter Love Her Body by Brenda Lane Richardson and Elane Rehr (HarperCollins Publishers, 2001) The authors discuss how parents can help their daughters to develop pride and self-confidence with their changing bodies. Get this book

	Children & Teens Afraid to Eat by Frances Berg (Healthy Weight Publishing Network, 1999) The author talks about eating disorders and weight issues, describes how our obsession with thinness is on the increase and what should be done to bring the focus back onto being healthy. Get this book

	Body Image: Understanding body dissatisfaction in men, women and children by Sarah Grogan (Routledge, 1998) This book looks at the effects of gender, sexuality, social class, age and ethnicity on our satisfaction with the way we look, and suggests how these differences arise. Get this book

	The Body Image Workbook: An 8-step program for learning to like your looks by Thomas Cash (New Harbinger Publications, 1997) Aims to change the negative, unhealthy attitude many people have towards their body to a more positive and affirming way of thinking. Get this book

	Anorexics on Anorexia edited by Rosemary Shelley (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1997) In this book recovering sufferers of anorexia nervosa describe their personal experiences of this illness, providing not only support for fellow sufferers but also valuable insights for the families of sufferers and for carers and professionals. Get this book

	'Development of the Children's Body Image Scale' by H Truby and S Paxton in the British Journal of Clinical Psychology, Vol 41, Part: 2 (June 2002) pg 185-203. Study into boys' and girls' perceptions and expectations of their own body image which found internalisation of a thin body ideal takes place at a young age, with many children desiring a BMI below the average norm. Abstract available at: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ ...

	'The Effect of Experimental Presentation of Thin Media Images on Body Satisfaction: A meta-analytic review' by LM Groesz and others, in International Journal of Eating Disorders, vol 31 (January 2002) pg 1-16. Abstract available at: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ ...

	'A Preliminary Controlled Evaluation of an Eating Disturbance Psychoeducational Intervention for College Students' by E Stice and J Ragan, in International Journal of Eating Disorders, vol 31 (March 2002) pg 159-171. Abstract available at: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/ ..