As the UK’s Eating Disorder Charity, Beat talks to thousands of people affected by eating disorders every year. Some of the most common challenges they face relate to transitions. This may be when someone moves from a child and adolescent service to an adult service, or from one treatment approach to another, or – in particular - when they move from hospital to home.
No matter what the transition, the challenges and peoples’ responses to them are very similar: worry about what will be different in the new arrangement, anxiety about leaving behind what has become familiar, frustration when they don’t get the information they need about the change, and more besides. Not surprisingly, relapse following a transition is a real risk.
I am therefore very pleased to see the Triangle Project underway. I sit on the steering committee and Beat is supporting the project by recruiting participants to the trial. We also guided the project leadership in setting up their online support sessions for participants.
By exploring what can help sufferers and their families to manage the transition as they return home from a hospital stay, we will be increasing the chances of people being able to stay on the path to recovery that they start while in hospital, and we will be empowering everyone involved to play a full and fruitful role in that recovery.
Every participant in the trial is therefore playing a hugely important role in helping to reduce the pain and suffering faced by those who follow them, and Beat salutes you for your contribution.
Andrew RadfordChief ExecutiveBeat