Improving School Mental Health Services for Students with Eating Disorders
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Improving School Mental Health Services for Students with Eating Disorders Bryn Schiele1 · Mark D. Weist1 · Samantha Martinez1 · Mills Smith‑Millman2 · Mark Sander3 · Nancy Lever4
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Nearly 14% of all youth display disordered eating patterns. Despite the prevalence of these disorders, there is limited literature on the integration of eating disorder support services in schools. Further, there is often limited eating disorder knowledge and training for school mental health (SMH) professionals. This paper describes a two-phase study involving qualitative and quantitative components examining the perspectives of adolescents in recovery from eating disorders, family members, and SMH professionals. Fourteen participants were recruited from an eating disorder treatment facility in the southeastern USA. Eight adolescent females who received treatment for disordered eating while in primary or secondary school and six of their mothers completed interviews. In addition, 720 SMH and allied professionals were surveyed on their knowledge and training in disordered eating identification and intervention and their perspectives on service provision, with 561 complete and usable surveys. Analyses of adolescent and family data revealed the following themes that hindered or helped recovery: Isolation, Perfectionism, Difficulties with Self-Acceptance and Comparison to Others, Uncertainty, Teacher Identification, Support in Recovery. Themes surrounding the benefits of including SMH services for this population included: Increased Awareness, Support in Recovery, Family Involvement, and Linking to Resources. Results revealed that the majority of SMH professionals did not receive training in the identification and/or intervention of disordered eating. Data suggested that lack of referrals and limited knowledge, skills, and time interfered with their ability to effectively identify and intervene. Findings provide a foundation for understanding the experiences of adolescents with disordered eating and the role of SMH programs in assisting them. Keywords Eating disorders · School mental health · Research and practice implications
Introduction Disordered eating, regular engagement in destructive eating practices such as restricting, dieting, binging, skipping meals, and compulsive eating, has become a significant issue in today’s society. Recent estimates suggest that 20 million women and 10 million men suffer from an eating disorder at
* Mark D. Weist [email protected] 1
Department of Psychology, University of South Carolina, Barnwell College, 1512 Pendleton Street, Suite #220, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
2
Miami University of Ohio, Oxford, USA
3
Hennepin County, Minnesota Mental Health Center, Minneapolis, USA
4
University of Maryland School Medicine, Baltimore, USA
some point in their lives (Wade, Keski-Rahkonene, & Hudson, 2011). Not only are these rates on the rise (Hudson, Hiripi, Pope Jr., & Kessler, 2007; Striegel-Moore & Fr
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