We are sorry that this part of page (in English) is much shorter than Slovenian version. We thought about it only as an introduction, but we would always kindly tell you more about our work if you are interested. So do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you wish.

PROJECTS ON THE FIELD OF EATING DISORDERS AND BODY IMAGE

Many of our users turn to us with problems regarding food and body image. Some already suffer from eating disorders, but others talk about very poor self-esteem and strong dissatisfaction of their bodies. So in response to these sort of problems we developed some sorts of programs where women can join in.

With our help and empoverment women – users learn to recognise more their feelings, needs, become more assertive, recognise and constructively deal with different life problems, become more independent but also more able to ask for support or what they need.

 

Users can get in touch with us via phone (office hours on working days), in live or by fax, post and e-mail. After that they get informations on different sorts of help or other relevant informations. They are the ones who choose where they would join in if they need to.

Let me introduce major projects on this field:

1. Counselling (mostly in live, also by phone or post)

2. Support and therapeutic groups - since 1994
Groups are open to all women with eating disorders (16+) in broader definition (anorexia, bulimia and compulsive overeating, but also atypical), mainly through offering them understanding, support, empowerment and looking for new ways of dealing with food and life. Two of main goals are to give women relevant information and decrease the isolation of sufferers.

Number of groups increased from one to four in 1998. Some of them are facilitated by social workers, some by ex-sufferers who recovered from eating disorders. Two clinical psychologists facilitate one group. Since 2001 we organise groups also in Koper in Maribor.

3. Self-help group for carers – since 1997
Carers, friends and partners often feel they need help as well as women with eating disorders. They need understanding, support and advices, how they can help their daughters, friends or partners. Mostly they can be great motivating factors for those women, but unfortunately they are also mostly the forgotten ones. So we try to offer them space and time, where they can exchange their opinions and views on eating disorder, but also help them to see their responsibilities in communication with sufferers.
Group meets fortnightly, members are both women and men.

4. Body image workshops
This project is aimed to women with poor body image – to the ones that do not like their figure, view themselves ugly and spend most of the time thinking and doing something to shape their bodies to become slim. Their dissatisaction with their figure drives them to preocupation with sport, thinking about beauty surgery, isolation and restriction of creativity. They view their bodies as »a piece of meat« that needs to be made to ideal size, even for the price of health. All these are burdens that have imapct on equal opportunities among women and men.
We developed a series of 4 or 5 continuing workshops to improve women's body image. It was accepted great by their users when we carried it out experimentaly in 2002 in Ljubljana. But in 2003 we got some funds from United nations Development program to spread workshops also in other cities of Slovenia. It is great to see how participants are relieved to talk about their hidden fears or thinking connecting with body and how they like to explore or do work to improve their body image.
In those workshops the most important technics to work are discussion and visualisations with the aim for users to know better their body image and how they want to feel in their bodies. Users fo the workshops are also encouraged to take over more activity to feel beeter in and about their bodies.
Part of the project are also postcards that promote positive body image, organisation of public discussion on this topic and contacts with media.

Who cares? - an eating disorderes conference for carers

In January 2002 we organised a big event for carers, with the help of other Slovenian and English organisations.
»The story« about carers is similar to carers of other addictions or psychiatric problems, only that in other sufferings of addictions careres are more seen. What carers, our users first told us was that they were not recognised from other institutions. When sufferer turned for help it was OK, but if carers turn for help (like informations, dilemas how to motivate, support sufferer, put up with sufferer's resistance, how to live with a bulimic…) they were mostly seen as »grumblers«. So our help was first on empowering them in their right to ask for help and insist, to turn to ombudsman if professionals do not treat them with dignity and respect, but at the same time we have given them informations about help, signs for eating disorders, possible consequences – we showed them that we recognise their suffering and dilemas and we do care about them as well.
The conference was one way how to raise hope, empowerment and help to carers who are in distress if living with the one with eating disorder.
Participants (more than 150 all together) reported about how they got better understanding of eating disorders and sufferers, what are the treatment opitons, how to help as carer, what to do to improve the communication and taking care for their own health.
Media showed great interest in the event – they invited us for interviews, talk show, came for news, wrote articles about topic that clearly we raised awareness about carers problems.