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JOINING ME NOW IS MARY BETH BLACKWELL, DIRECTOR OF EATING DISORDER RESOURCE CENTER AT
JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES AND KORI HINTZ BONE,
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE RENEW COUNSELING CENTER,
AN INTENSIVE OUTPATIENT PROGRAM FOR EATING DISORDERS BASED IN OLATHE.
WE VERY MUCH APPRECIATE YOU BOTH BEING WITH US ON THE LOCAL SHOW. BUT I STARTED THE PROGRAM
TALKING ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE NO LONGER HAVE AN INPATIENT TREATMENT FACILITY RIGHT HERE IN
KANSAS CITY. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR PATIENTS IN KANSAS CITY, MARY BETH?
WHAT THAT MEANS IS PATIENTS HAVE TO GO TO THE EAST PART OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI.
THERE ARE SOME RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES THERE, AND THEY HAVE TO GO TO DENVER OR TO TULSA TO
GET SOME TYPE OF INPATIENT TREATMENT, NONE OF WHICH ARE HIGH LEVEL CARE, ACUTE CARE
MEDICAL FACILITIES, WHICH WAS WHAT WE HAD HERE AT RESEARCH. AND YOUR JAW DROPPED WHEN YOU
HEARD THE NEWS, KORI? YEAH. I WAS REFERRING PEOPLE PRETTY
MUCH WEEKLY OR EVERY COUPLE OF WEEKS TO INPATIENT, AND BEING SOMETHING HERE IN KANSAS CITY
WAS REALLY NICE BECAUSE THE FAMILY AND LOVED ONES COULD BE EASILY INVOLVED, AND I FIND
THAT'S A KEY PIECE FOR SOMEONE TO HEAL FROM A EATING DISORDER, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE FAMILY
MEMBERS AGGRESSIVELY INVOLVED IN THEIR TREATMENT. SO NOW THAT THEY HAVE TO DRIVE
FOUR HOURS OR FLY ON AN AIRPLANE FOR TREATMENT,
I THINK THAT'S A HUGE LOSS FOR THE KANSAS CITY
AREA. TALK TO ME ABOUT THE KINDS OF PATIENTS THAT YOU'RE SEEING AT
YOUR OWN FACILITY AT RENEW IN OLATHE. WE JUST SAW MARTA IN THE VIDEO.
SOME PEOPLE HAVE A VIEW THAT ANOREXIA, BULIMIA, EATING DISORDERS IS A WHITE WOMAN'S, A
WELL-TO-DO PERSON'S DISORDER. YEAH. IN OUR PROGRAM RIGHT NOW, FOR
EXAMPLE, WE HAVE AN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN. WE HAVE A COUPLE DIFFERENT
MALES, ONE IN THEIR 20s, ANOTHER IN THEIR 40s. YES, WE DO HAVE WHITE PEOPLE AS
WELL, BUT THERE ARE MORE AND MORE -- AN INCREASE IN THE LIKELIHOOD OF STATISTICS OF NOT
JUST THE MIDDLE CLASS WHITE AMERICANS WHO HAVE THIS. DEFINITELY AN INCREASE.
HOW ABOUT YOU, MARY BETH? WHO ARE THE PEOPLE COMING TO YOUR DOORS?
WE HAVE QUITE A MIX. WE HAVE -- I HAVE QUITE A FEW MALES ON MY CLIENT LIST, AND
TEENAGERS. I ALSO HAVE A LARGE NUMBER OF ELDERLY, MEANING, LIKE, OVER THE
AGE OF 50, WHICH IS NOT A USUAL DEMOGRAPHIC THAT YOU SEE IN EATING DISORDERS, BUT IT
HAPPENS, AND IT'S THERE, AND WE SEE AN ACTUAL INCREASE IN POSTMENOPAUSAL WOMEN THAT THEY
MAY NOT HAVE AN EATING DISORDER EARLY ON, BUT AS
THEY GO THROUGH MENOPAUSE, DIVORCE OR CHILDREN
LEAVING HOME, THEY DEVELOP AN EATING DISORDER LATER IN LIFE. I HAVE A GOOD MIX OF THAT ON MY
CLIENT LIST AS WELL. YOU ALSO TALKED ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU ARE SEEING MORE
BOYS COMING TO YOU TWO. WHY IS THAT? I THINK WITH MEN AND BOYS IN
GENERAL, THERE'S BEEN THIS MISCONCEPTION THAT IT IS A WOMAN'S DISEASE AND THERE HAS
BEEN SOME SHAME AND STIGMA FOR SEEKING TREATMENT
FOR A WOMAN'S DISEASE, SO A LOT OF MEN DON'T
GET TREATMENT, BUT ALSO A LOT OF MEN MAY NOT EVEN REALIZE THEY HAVE AN EATING DISORDER.
THEY FEEL LIKE MAYBE THEY'RE WORKING OUT AND THEY'RE TRYING TO BODY BUILD, AND MAYBE THEIR
TAKING STEROIDS OR SOME TYPE OF SUPPLEMENTS, BUT THEY BECOME OBSESSED WITH IT TO THE POINT
WHERE THEIR BODY WEIGHT GETS VERY LOW OR THEIR BODY FAT PERCENTAGE BECOMES EXTREMELY
LOW, AND THEY MAY USE COMPENSATORY BEHAVIORS LIKE PURGING OR USING LAXATIVES TO
MAINTAIN WEIGHT, AND THEY DON'T EVEN REALIZE THEY HAVE AN EATING DISORDER.
JUST IT ADD TO THAT, ONLY ONE IN TEN PEOPLE WITH AN EATING DISORDER GET HELP.
SO YOU ADD THAT STAT TO A MALE THAT'S HAVING A
WOMAN'S DISEASE, SUCH A FEW AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THAT
KNOW THEY HAVE A PROBLEM AND GET HELP FOR IT.