Who we are
Our Knowsley and St Helens Eating Disorder Service is a specialist community-based service which provides assessment and treatment for adults with eating disorders.
We are a small, multi-disciplinary team of highly-trained and experienced clinical psychologists and an advanced dietician.
Our service is for adults who have a GP based in Knowsley and St Helens.
We are here to support men and women aged 18 and over who have a range of problems around eating and body image.
If you think you may have a problem with your eating and would benefit from a referral to our service, please make an appointment to see your GP.
He or she will ask you questions about your eating behaviours and the thoughts and feelings you have around eating. They will then be able to work with you to decide what type of support would be most helpful for you, and if appropriate, they will be able to refer you onto our service for an assessment.
Meet the team
The specialist eating disorder team consists of:
- Clinical psychologists
- Consultant psychiatrist
- Cognitive behavioural therapists
- Occupational therapist
- Dietician
- Mental health and wellbeing practitioner
- Assistant psychologists
- Peer support worker
- Mental health nurse
- Administrative staff.
- After we have accepted your referral, you will be invited to attend an assessment session with a qualified member of our team
- We will ask you about your eating habits and how this is affecting your daily life. We may also ask about your history and experiences, relationships, work, and day to day life. You only have to share what you are comfortable with, although the more information we have, the better treatment plan we can develop
- Depending on your needs, we may offer a range of evidence based psychological or dietetic interventions, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT), psychoeducation, guided self help, or specific occupational therapy or dietetic support
- Appointments are usually weekly and may be offered as individual or group sessions, depending on level of need
- You may bring someone with you to your appointment, such as a carer or family member if you would feel more comfortable. We may ask them for their input into the assessment
- It may be necessary to have an extended assessment appointment if we need to gather more information
- Following your appointment, our team will discuss which intervention is appropriate for you and we will be in touch soon.
- The FREED pathway offers support to 16 to 25 year olds who have experienced an eating disorder for three 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 a patient 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 a FREED or eating disorder assessment appointment. For more information on initial assessments, see information on this web page. FREED patients will be treated as a priority
- For more information on the FREED pathway and FREED resources, visit the official website.
Before your appointment, you should receive questionnaires which may ask about your eating behaviours and mood. These are known as routine outcome measures. Please bring these with you to your appointment or you may be asked to complete them at your initial assessment. For more information on routine outcome measures, please speak with a member of the team
We are situated on the Whiston Hospital site in the Knowsley Resource and Recovery Centre building, opposite the entrance to A&E.
We can be accessed via Dragon Lane. Once you reach our entrance (pictured), we have a video communication system next to the door where you can buzz and speak to one of our receptionists.
Please note, we do not have parking on site. There is a car park just off Dragon Lane, on Shaw Lane, which is a two minute walk to us. The main hospital car park is on Delph Lane, off Warrington Road. To access Knowsley Recourse and Recovery Centre from this car park, please enter the main entrance to the hospital and turn left at reception. Keep going until you reach double doors to stairs, to reach floor 0 of the hospital. From here, exit the hospital and cross past the A&E entrance car park to reach us.
