WCU'S EATING DISORDER TREATMENT TEAM
SHARES APPROACH IN POPULAR MANUAL
The first 50 copies of a manual about Western Carolina University's innovative approach to helping students with eating disorders sold out, and the second edition went to the printer with a waiting list 100 copies long and counting.
The manual, “Guidelines for the Assessment and Management of Students with Eating Disorders In a University Setting,” details how Western's Health Center, Counseling and Psychological Services Center, Fitness Center, Athletics Department, Residential Living, Wellness Center, and Division of Student Affairs work together to reach out to students who may have an eating disorder. Topics range from how to conduct a caring intervention to examples of the forms students sign to accept or refuse services.
June Wytock, a WCU staff psychologist who founded WCU's Eating Disorders Treatment Team in 1991, said professionals who have ordered the manual told her the publication is easy to use, thorough, up-to-date with current issues in the field and helpful for developing a similar team on their own campuses.
“I have found that it is fairly common for large universities to have this type of collaboration, but not so common for midsize or smaller sized universities,” said Wytock, who edited the manual. “I am delighted with the response.”
Initial copies were made available to health professionals at the March 2005 Southern College Health Association conference, where WCU staff gave a presentation about eating disorders. The presenters were Wytock, who works in the Counseling and Psychological Services Center; Karen White, a visiting assistant professor and nutritionist in the University Health Center; Dr. Anthony Esterwood, a physician in the health center; and Lisa Koralewicz, a counselor in the Counseling Center. Conference attendees passed the information on to other universities, and interest in the manual continued to grow.
“The response has been truly unbelievable,” said Wytock. “I never expected this manual to be so popular. Over the summer, our Counseling Center director, Dr. John Ritchie, put an announcement over the college center director's listserv offering copies of the manual for $20 and the orders started pouring in. We had a waiting list of universities from around the country and as far away as Wales and Canada that want copies.”
For more information, contact June Wytock at (828) 227-7469.
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