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Frequently Asked Questions about the Light of Mind eating disorder support

We know it can be hard to take that first step to contact someone for help so we want to do our best to support you through that process and help you get that one step closer to the help you need and deserve.

What can I expect when I contact Light of Mind for support with an eating disorder?

You will be invited to join Mary for an informal cuppa and chat on zoom. You will have 15-20 minutes together to share where you are at with your eating disorder and explore with Mary what support you might need. Your experience is unique so this a chance for you to tell us about your individual experience of living with an eating disorder.

What information will I need to provide before I start support?

We will ask you to share what you have ‘tried’ so far, what helped and hasn’t helped, and we will ask you to share what you are looking for in the support you are seeking. If you haven't told your GP about your eating disorder we can support you to do this. It isn't necessary to do this before you contact Light of Mind.

Do you have any criteria around accessing support?

We don't have a BMI or weight threshold to accessing support with Light of Mind, Our main criteria is around your safety. We will need to make sure that we can safely work with you and that we are the right service to meet your needs.

Will you weigh me or ask me what my weight is?

As part of our initial conversation and early sessions, we will explore any distress or value placed on weight or weighing including past approaches that may or may not have been helpful. We want to ensure that you feel safe within our approach and understand the process around physical health monitoring and potential involvement with your GP.

What if I have been in recovery but am now relapsing?

Please get in touch. Both of these words mean different things to different people and one of the things we love to do the most is offer a fresh take on what and where recovery is and what might be happening in a relapse.

Do I need to be referred by a healthcare professional to access support?

No.

Do I have to have a diagnosed eating disorder to access support?

No.

How will I know which Light of Mind support service is appropriate for me?

Mary will talk everything through with you and make suggestions for you to choose from, together we will create a way forwards for you. We have group and 1:1 programmes and on line and face to face to consider.

What happens if you can't help me?

In our experience the therapeutic relationship and comfort and trust in the person you are working with is central to clients feeling we are the right service to help them. Our priority is always safety first, so if we feel we are not the right service for you it will likely be because we think you need more support than we are able to offer. In this case we will always make suggestions and recommendations to you.

The way we see it is that everybody has innate health. Everybody has a part of them ‘deep down’ that is there for them to discover, and that discovery of this place is where recovery is, in the present moment. If we don’t feel we can help you it will never be because you are ’beyond help’ or that it is ‘too late for you’ or there is ‘no hope for you’, it will only be because we don’t feel we are the right service for you in terms of the level of support you might need to help you discover this recovery within .

I’m already receiving support for my eating disorder. Can I still contact Light of Mind?

You are always super welcome to reach out to us and chat things through. In our experience it can be super confusing and often unhelpful to have more than one therapist/treatment at once, and most NHS services wouldn’t support this, with good reason. But everyone is different, and no two people needs are identical so we can talk all this through in your discovery call.

I’ve struggled with an eating disorder for a while, will the support still be available to me?

Absolutely.

Will I need to inform my family that I’m accessing support?

We know that eating disorders thrive in isolation and can ‘pose’ as your only/best friend. With this is mind we will always talk to you about your support systems and think together with you about who you might feel could support you, but this would be part of your therapy and not a pre-requisite to working with us.

Do you keep records about my support and what do you do with this information?

As a service we use a password protected note system. It is best practice to keep records of our interventions and we make sure this is done in line with HCPC regulations. If you decide to work with us we will send you a separate information leaflet about our confidentiality and information sharing policies and you can ask as many questions as you like about this throughout.

How much do the support services cost?

This will be discussed with you in your discovery call with Mary. Each intervention is tailor made to you and depends on the amount of support you need, the service you opt for and the practitioner you work with.

Do you accept private health insurance ?

Yes. We work with Bupa and WPA at the moment, but if you are with another provider we can discuss this.

If I am unable to attend a session, what happens?

We have a 48 hour cancellation policy so we ask you to let us know as soon as possible if you can’t make your session. As far as possible we will work with you to ensure you have your arranged session.

Do you have availability at the moment or will I be added to a waiting list?

Of course our aim is to help people as soon as possible, we will tell you our current availability as soon as you reach out and we will give you as decent idea of when we could work with you if we are full at the time you reach out, then you can decide from there.

When do you offer sessions?

Through the working week Mon-Friday. Some of the team also offer late pm or evening sessions.