Eating Disorder Service (Liverpool and Sefton)

The eating disorder team consists of:

• Clinical psychologists
• Cognitive behavioural therapists
• Family Therapists
• Psychotherapists
• Specialist Dieticians
• Mental Health Nurses
• Assistant Psychologists
• Support Workers
• Administrative staff
• Trainee Clinical Psychologists

Whilst eating disorders are serious mental health conditions, it is possible to make a full recovery, no matter what the duration. The earlier someone can access support for their eating disorder, the better chance they have of making a full recovery.

Referrals are accepted from GPs or other healthcare practitioners, such as therapists or counsellors, in conjunction with a GP. This is necessary as we are a psychological therapy service; we are grateful to GPs for assessing, monitoring and treating the potentially significant impact of our clients’ eating difficulties on their physical health.

As an essential part of the referral, your GP will review your physical health and record your height and weight. If evidence of a recent physical health review is not provided, this may delay access to the service. Your GP will also ask you questions about your eating and the thoughts and feelings you have around eating. Your GP will remain responsible for your physical health and medical monitoring whilst you access our service, this may include regular blood tests and blood pressure.

The service you will be referred to depends on the location of your GP surgery and not your home address. To access this service, your GP must be registered in the Liverpool or Sefton area.

If you are a GP or health professional and would like more information, visit our professional’s page.

After we have accepted your referral, you will be invited to attend an assessment with a member of our team. We will contact you by opt-in letter or telephone to arrange this.

You may bring someone with you to your assessment, such as a carer, friend, or family member if you would feel more comfortable. It may be that they wait in the waiting room or join part or all the appointment.

Assessments typically last approximately 90 minutes. It may be necessary to have an extended assessment appointment or a second appointment if we need to gather more information.

We will ask you about your eating habits, body image and how this is affecting your daily life. We may also ask about your history, relationships, day to day life and broader mental health experiences. You only have to share what you are comfortable with, although the more information we have, the better plan we can develop for you.

Depending on your needs, we offer a range of evidence-based interventions such as psychoeducation, guided self-help, specialised support groups, and dietetic support. We also offer:

• Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for eating disorders (CBT-E)
• Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults (MANTRA)
• Cognitive analytical therapy (CAT)
• Systemic family therapy (SFT)
• And a range of other interventions

Therapy appointments are usually weekly and may be offered as individual or group sessions, depending on best fit for your difficulties.

Following your assessment, our team will discuss which intervention is appropriate for you and we will be in touch. If it is determined at assessment that eating disorder therapy is not suitable for your needs, we will discuss next steps for support. This will include discharge back to the care of your GP and consideration of referral to other relevant services.

Before your assessment, you should receive some questionnaires which may ask you about your eating behaviours and your mood. These are known as Routine Outcome Measures. We request that you bring these with you to your appointment, or you may be asked to complete them in your initial assessment. 

The FREED pathway offers support to 16- to 25-year-olds living across Liverpool and Sefton who have experienced an eating disorder for 3 years or less.

The FREED pathway offers evidence-based therapies, prioritising early intervention and providing treatment which is tailored to the specific needs of young people.

If someone appears to be appropriate for the FREED pathway, we aim to contact them by phone within 48 hours to gather more information. Following this, they may be offered an assessment. FREED patients will be treated as a priority

For more information on the FREED pathway and FREED resources, visit their website.

There are preconceived ideas about eating disorders, many of which are not true. Understanding these ideas and perceptions, and dispelling them, are helpful for someone going through an eating disorder as well as their carers, friends, and family. Here we dispel some of the common myths.

Only girls suffer from eating disorders – Often people think that only girls are affected by eating disorders. This is not the case. It is estimated that around 10%-20% percent of people experiencing eating disorders are male.

Achieving a normal weight means you’re cured – Being healthy weight for your age, height, and sex is an important part of recovery, but it’s important to feel better about yourself and your body, and not to worry about food and eating.

Eating disorders are a phase – Once an eating disorder is established, it can be hard to get out of it on your own. Eating disorders are serious mental health difficulties, and it’s unlikely to resolve without specialist intervention and support.

Families are usually to blame – There’s no evidence to suggest that families cause eating disorders. We do know is that family support as part of their care plan gives young people the best chance of recovery

People choose to have an eating disorder – Eating disorders are very distressing for the person, and there are many factors that contribute to the development of an eating disorder including biological, social, psychological, and interpersonal factors. People don’t choose to have an eating disorder.

Eating disorders are about attention-seeking and vanity – There is a link between not liking your body and the development of an eating disorder, this isn’t the case for everyone. It doesn’t mean that it’s just an attempt to gain attention. People with eating disorders often go to huge lengths to hide their bodies from others.

You can tell by someone’s appearance that they have an eating disorder – Often people think that you have to be underweight to have an eating disorder but many individuals may be a normal weight or overweight. It’s also true that not everyone who’s underweight has an eating disorder. It’s not possible to tell just by looking at someone whether they have an eating disorder.

Eating disorders are primarily about food – Whilst eating disorders appear to be centred around food, this is best understood as a way of managing issues, difficult emotions, or distress that are often unrelated to food.

You’ll have an eating disorder for life – Full recovery from an eating disorder is possible. We believe that we can work with people to help make this their reality.

‘I felt really listened to and like things were taken on board.’

‘Although I had a long wait, it felt seamless.’

‘The process was well organised with the initial assessment and treatment. This was helpful to have.’

‘Whilst on the waiting list I received wellbeing calls each month with updates which I found really positive. It stopped me wondering how long I would wait as someone actually got in touch."