Eating Disorder Service (Adults)

  • Psychology led service providing treatment for patients with a mild/moderate eating disorder and range of conditions.

  • Base: Tile Hill Health Centre Jardine Crescent
  • Directorate: Mental Health
  • Attendance: Appointment
  • Referral Criteria: Health professional via Central Booking Service
  • Address: Tile Hill Health Centre Jardine Crescent, Coventry, CV4 9PN
  • Reception hours: 08:30am - 17:00pm
  • Reception phone number: 02476 232940
  • Clinic hours: Reception hours: 08:30am - 17:00pm

About us

Telephone number: 02476 232940
Referral criteria:  Referrals for outpatient treatment are accepted from general practitioners and secondary care mental health professionals.
Email: CovwarkEDS@covwarkpt.nhs.uk 

Coventry and Warwickshire Eating Disorder Service provides community treatment for people with eating disorders and has bases in Coventry and Warwick. Treatment is provided by a multidisciplinary team consisting of professionals from psychiatry, psychology, nursing, dietetics, occupational therapy, social work and peer support.

Everyone referred to the service receives a comprehensive assessment to determine what matters to them and identifying their individual needs and goals. A range of therapies is available, including cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT-E, CBT-T & CBT-AR), psychodynamic therapy, compassion-focused therapy (CFT), specialist nursing support, dietetic advice, occupational therapy and medical monitoring.  Our services are expanding and future pathways will include: Specialist Supportive Clinical Management (SSCM), Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults (MANTRA) and Guided Self Help for Binge Eating Disorder.

The Aspen Centre, Warwick

The Eating Disorders and Diabetes pathway, based at the Aspen Centre in Warwick, provides treatment for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes and an eating disorder. It is a national pilot site for type 1 diabetes and disordered eating (T1DE, previously known as a diabulimia).

There is a 15 bed inpatient unit at the  Aspen Centre for people with severe eating disorders, who are admitted from across the West Midlands and further afield. 

Emergency help

If you need urgent help outside normal working hours, please contact 111 and select the mental health option, or visit the following website for more information: Find Help Now | Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust

Referrals

Referrals for outpatient treatment are accepted from general practitioners and secondary care mental health professionals.

Single Point of Access Email: CovwarkEDS@covwarkpt.nhs.uk

Referrals for inpatient treatment are managed through the West Midlands Adult Eating Disorders Provider Collaborative.

Website: West Midlands Adult Eating Disorders Provider Collaborative :: Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Additional support

B-eat, the eating disorders charity, provides information and support on their website, including helplines:

Helplines - Beat

The Royal College of Psychiatrists publishes information leaflets which can be downloaded free of charge from their website.

Eating disorders and Diabetes

There are 400,000 adults in the UK with Type One Diabetes. Eating disorders are twice as common in people with Type One Diabetes than in those without, people with type 2 diabetes may also be at higher risk. This could be because of the focus on food in diabetes management, the stress of being diagnosed, restrictions on lifestyle, and the emphasis on weight control.

Many people with diabetes struggle to admit they have an eating disorder and may find it hard to talk about it with healthcare professionals. People with diabetes can take too little insulin as they try to manage their weight, which leads to poor diabetic control and can cause serious complications. This in turn makes them feel worse.

Eating disorders are common in people with diabetes

I Worry all the time about my weight or body shape:

  • Many people worry about their weight or shape at times but if this is something you think about a lot you may have a problem.

I skip or reduce how many injections I take to control my weight:

  • If you miss injections or give yourself too little insulin this will cause weight loss, but it will also affect how well you are able to manage your diabetes.

I don’t feel like my Diabetes is well controlled:

  • Skipping injections or not taking enough insulin results in a high HBA1c and puts you at risk of a range of complications from your diabetes. People who do not take enough insulin may find themselves developing DKA and having to be admitted to hospital as a result.

I often overeat until I feel uncomfortable:

  • Most people overeat occasionally but if this is happening regularly it is called binge eating and can be a sign of an eating disorder.

I feel guilty about eating:

  • Eating should be an enjoyable activity and not a source of stress and guilt.

I struggle to accept that I have diabetes:

  • Having diabetes can be stressful. Some people skip their injections or avoid testing because they resent having diabetes.

If any of these apply to you, you may have an eating disorder. People with eating disorders can be normal weight, underweight or overweight. You don't have to be skinny to have an eating disorder.

There are many possible reasons why people might develop an eating disorder. This is particularly complex for people with diabetes as they may want to eat too little to lose weight, but also know that they have to eat to keep their diabetes under control.  For a lot of people, not taking their insulin seems like a solution to this dilemma but it leads to other, often serious, problems. People with type 1 diabetes must administer insulin every day and closely manage their blood glucose levels.

Diabetes can feel like something which takes over your life and sometimes controlling your eating can seem like a way of regaining the control that you have had to give up.  It can also be difficult to feel that you cannot join in with what your friends are doing because of the restrictions which diabetes may impose.

People with diabetes often don't know where to get help for their eating disorder. Evidence suggests that about 42 per cent of people living with type 1 will experience distress about their diabetes at some point in their life (JDRF), so if you’re feeling this way, you are not alone.

There are several different eating disorders that people with diabetes can develop:

·        In some cases, people simply eat too little to lose weight.

·        In others, they try to restrict how much they eat but then find that they binge eat, then try to compensate for it by taking too little insulin, vomiting, or taking laxatives.

·        In other cases, people binge eat but do not compensate and then tend to gain weight.

All of these can occur in people with diabetes. Eating too little can lead to anorexia nervosa, food restriction followed by binge eating and then taking too little insulin, vomiting, or taking laxatives can lead to bulimia nervosa and overeating can lead to binge eating disorder. One of the problems which people face when they are on insulin is the fear of gaining weight when they start to take their insulin more regularly.  This is often a hurdle which needs to be overcome as part of recovery from your eating disorder.

How can the Eating Disorders Service help?

The Eating Disorders Service recognises the complexity that people with diabetes face. We have a team of professionals with a particular interest in working with people with eating disorders and diabetes. At present, this consists of Dr Anthony Winston, Consultant in Eating Disorders, Lynette Fellowes, Nurse Therapist and Sue White, Specialist Dietitian.  The Service will see any patient with diabetes and aims to offer psychological help and support, as well as advice on diet. 

The first step is referral which can be done either by your GP or by your diabetes team. You will then be offered an appointment for an assessment at which you will be invited to talk about the problems you have been having and we will talk to you about what sort of help we can offer. 

 

It is often difficult to admit to having difficulties in managing your diabetes, particularly if you have been diabetic for a long time.  People often feel ashamed to admit that they are not managing things well, as they feel they ought to know how to do it. Our approach to helping people with eating disorders consists of psychological therapy, dietetic advice and medical input.  Psychological therapy is an opportunity to explore how you feel about having diabetes and why you have developed an eating disorder.