Eating Disorder Awareness Week marches on until March 4.

This is a week where health centers and various organizations around the Sacramento area educate the public on how to get help, confidentiality and information on eating disorders.One such program is the Summit Eating Disorder Program. The program is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of eating disorders, and works in association with Summit Psychotherapy Associates of Sacramento.

“This team has treated disorders for 10 years now,” said Michelle Matoff, head of the Summit Eating Disorders Program.

The outreach center is a multidisciplinary team of professionals who talk about eating disorders, which may include anorexia, bulimia or over-eating. Dieticians, licensed clinical social workers, therapists, and psychologists are there to help and to educate.

They provide a variety of services that include essential assessments, group therapy, family therapy, nutrition counseling, nutrition seminars, and psychiatric evaluation for medication. During the week of Feb. 25 through March 4, their team will participate in helping educate the public by doing a number of activities. They plan on writing letters to sororities, talking with different high schools and colleges, talking at PTA meetings and going on the air with radio talk shows about public health.

At Sacramento State?s Student Health Center, they have had eating disorder groups for many years now. They have put together a Body Imaging group that meets Mondays in the Student Health Center on the second floor, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. It?s an outreach and treatment program for eating disorders.

“It?s a semester-long confidential group, that has qualified people to speak about difficulties in a supportive atmosphere,” said Miranda Hoffman, a post-doctoral intern at the Health Center. This is a group where women can come to talk about the difficulties with body image. It is not a requirement to speak; they are there for support. Also available in the counseling center are therapy sessions on an individual basis. The first eight visits are free. Cultural and psychological issues, personality traits, and learned behavior contribute to eating disorders. In addition, some people may have biochemical imbalances that make them prone to these disorders.

For more information on Eating Disorder Awareness Week, call 920-5276. To learn more about the Student Health Center?s group meetings, call Cathy Shannon at 278-6416, or e-mail her at [email protected].