At ASBL Empathie, you will find yourself in a warm environment.
At ASBL Empathie, you will find yourself in a warm environment.
You feel the experience in working with young people and with an eating disorder. The doctors have knowledge and understand the art of involved confrontation. For the ‘patient/client’, it is hard work. Self-reflection, underlying patterns of fear of failure and perfectionism are also exposed and addressed, and it pays off. First change in the mind, then the pounds. As parents, you are a directly involved party at Empathie. They work with the context of the family, you are involved and also coached in the difficult process of dealing with both the eating disorder and your adolescent. It is an added value that dieticians are also present under the same roof, allowing for close communication between therapist and dietician. In short: highly recommended for anyone who chooses professional outpatient therapy.
ASBL Empathie gave us the support and warmth we needed
ASBL Empathie gave us the support and warmth we needed
“Elisa’s weight was plummeting at a furious pace and we realised that we could no longer bear this alone. We also didn’t want to let her go or leave her alone in hospital, we knew what we didn’t want. She was so scared and her thinking was so disturbed. ASBL Empathie gave us the support and warmth we needed, in order to keep supporting Elisa, despite our feelings of desperation and helplessness. ‘Together’ we fought with her against her illness with support from the doctors, therapists, family, other girls with anorexia and their parents. It was the most terrible and tearful period in our lives but also a period of intense bonding and humility for life. We are so happy that things are better now.” C, Ghent
I am finally becoming aware of what an eating disorder is.
I am finally becoming aware of what an eating disorder is.
After a series of admissions to psychiatric wards and 2 very long-term admissions to an eating disorder ward spread over about 5 years, I was fortunate enough to end up at ASBL “Empathie”, where I have been receiving out-patient counselling for a year and a half now. I am finally becoming aware of what is “going on” with me and above all, I am “aware” of what an eating disorder is. I realise how hard I have to fight to get this under control. With a lot of trial and error, I experience every day that I am walking the right path, although it mostly takes a lot of commitment and courage. And yet, surrounded by the warm people of “Empathie”, my close family and some friends for whom I have boundless admiration, I realise that it is worth it! Step by step, I am now detaching myself from that false sense of security that admission to the psychiatric wards gave me. As a result, I feel there is still a future for me, which is gradually giving me more breathing space, freedom of choice and, above all, real solutions.
M (53 years old)
Finally no more 'alone' talking to my murderous inner critic
Finally no more 'alone' talking to my murderous inner critic
After decades of searching, doubting, fighting, struggling, giving up, despairing, causing grief, suffering, Empathie came my way… what a discovery!!! Finally no more ‘alone’ talking to my murderous inner critic, but another ‘wise’ external voice , namely that of Empathie made its appearance…. Initially not very welcome, after all, we had been talking for years, me as fearful slave, my inner critic as mighty ruler! ASBL
Empathie invalidated his superiority, what he had to say was anything but the truth, even worse: it was destructive nonsense! At the day centre, I learned to recognise the false tricks of his strategy, the big lies he made me believe in, the fallacies of my thinking. NO, anorexia is not just an immense problem of eating or not eating! It is just one of the inner critic’s tricks to keep me in his power, mould me to his will, make me lose my own ‘self’…. Eating in community was a huge challenge for me.
It was made clear to me in a very loving, gentle way that there was nothing ‘wrong’ with eating a delicious, healthy, beautiful salad, prepared according to the standards of nutrition. I soon got a feeling of ‘safety’, nothing could happen to me, my inner critic was not alone in this, there was another voice that encouraged me and did not discourage me… that voice came from the kind people around me. And yes, my inner critic did not give in easily, he resisted fiercely, did not want to lose me… but with every meal at Empathy, his power diminished, thanks to the endless patience, the great understanding, the touchingly gentle attention… I had found a safe haven, here I felt strong! (How delicious, tongue-tied a chocolate could be…) Gradually I expanded my ‘action radius’ (i.e. fighting, but eating sufficient and delicious food) further, what could be done at Empathie had to be possible elsewhere too! My inner critic was silenced more and more…, yes he is still there, but whether I want to listen to him is up to ME!
Thank you EMPATHIE, words fail me!
At vzw empathy, you will find yourself in a warm environment.
At vzw empathy, you will find yourself in a warm environment.
You feel the experience in working with adolescents and an eating disorder.
The doctors are knowledgeable and understand the art of involved confrontation. For the ‘patient/client’ it is hard work.
Self-reflection, underlying patterns of fear of failure and perfectionism are also exposed and addressed, and it pays off. First change in the head, then the pounds.
As parents, you are a directly involved party and they know that at Empathy. They work with the context of the family, you are involved and also coached in the difficult process of dealing with the eating disorder and your adolescent.
It is an added value that dieticians are also present under the same roof so that there can be a close relationship between therapist and dietician.
In short: a warm recommendation for all those who choose professional outpatient therapy.
Anorexia nervosa: an integrative treatment model - Journal of Psychotherapy 2015 [41] 02 www.psychotherapie.bsl.nl
Anorexia nervosa: an integrative treatment model - Journal of Psychotherapy 2015 [41] 02 www.psychotherapie.bsl.nl
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an illness with a huge impact on all areas of an individual’s life and their context (Jones et al., 2008). AN patients live, as it were, under the dictatorship of the ‘inner critic’, a strong inner normative voice that constantly reiterates the same disapproving judgements. Stinckens (2001) uses this metaphor to refer to an ‘integrated system of critical and negative thoughts and attitudes towards the self, which was imposed from outside’. The inner critic manifests itself in various ways, causing emotional well-being and social relationships to suffer from its many demands on the patient. Moreover, AN has a dismal prognosis. Less than half of patients fully recover from the disease; 20 per cent develop a chronic eating disorder and 5 per cent of AN patients die from the effects of the disease or by suicide (Steinhausen, 2002; Steinhausen, 2008).
The Perception of Persons with Anorexia Nervosa on Quality of Life: an Initial Investigation
The Perception of Persons with Anorexia Nervosa on Quality of Life: an Initial Investigation
Received: 16 March 2015 /Accepted: 14 August 2015 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht and The International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies (ISQOLS) 2015 –
Abstract Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an illness with a major impact on the individual. Among other things, it affects quality of life, relationships with friends and family, social integration, personal development and physical health. However, most Quality of Life studies focus mainly on health, without paying attention to psychosocial and subjective aspects. In this study, individuals with AN were examined from a broad perspective.
Finally no longer 'alone' in conversation with my murderous inner critic
Finally no longer 'alone' in conversation with my murderous inner critic
After decades of searching, doubting, fighting, struggling, giving up, despairing, causing grief, suffering, Empathy came my way… what a discovery!!!
Finally no longer ‘alone’ in conversation with my murderous inner critic, yes another ‘wise’ external voice , namely that of Empathy made its appearance…. Initially not very welcome, after all, we had it “right” with the two of us for years, me as fearful slave, my inner critic as mighty ruler!
Empathy invalidated his suppremation, what he had to say was anything but the truth, worse: scathing nonsense!
At the day center, I learned to recognize the false tricks of his strategy, the big lies he made me believe in, the thinking errors I made.
NO, anorexia is not just an immense problem of eating or not eating!
It’s just one of the inner critic’s tricks to keep me in its power, to mold me to its hand, to make me lose my own “self…
Eating in community was a huge challenge for me.
It was made clear to me in a very loving, gentle way that there was nothing “wrong” with eating a delicious, healthy, beautiful salad prepared according to the standards of nutrition. I soon got a sense of “safety,” nothing could happen to me, my inner critic was not in sole charge here, there was another voice that actually encouraged me and did not discourage me … that voice came from the kind people around me. And yes , my inner critic did not give in easily, he offered fierce resistance, did not want to lose me … but with each meal at Empathy his power dwindled, thanks to the endless patience, the great understanding, the touchingly gentle attention …
I had found a safe haven, here I felt strong! (How delicious, tongue-tied a chocolate could be…)
Gradually I expanded my ‘action radius’ (i.e. fighting for sufficient and tasty food) further, what could be done at Empathy had to be possible elsewhere too!
My inner critic was silenced more and more…, yes he is still there, but whether I want to listen to him, that is up to me to decide!
Thank you EMPATHIE, words are too short !
Finally, I am now becoming aware of what an eating disorder is.
Finally, I am now becoming aware of what an eating disorder is.
After a series of admissions to psychiatric wards and 2 very long-term admissions to an eating disorder ward spread over about 5 years, I have fortunately ended up at the non-profit organization “empathy” where I have been receiving outpatient counseling for about a year and a half now.
I am finally becoming aware of what is “going on” with me and I am especially “aware” of what an eating disorder is.
I realize how hard I have to fight to get it under control. Every day I experience with a lot of trial and error that I am walking the right path while above all it takes a lot of commitment and courage.
And yet, surrounded by the warm people of “empathy,” my immediate family and some friends for whom I have boundless admiration, I realize that it is worth it!
Step by step, I am now detaching myself from that false sense of security that admission gave me.
As a result, I feel that there is still a future for me, which is gradually giving me more breathing room, freedom of choice and, above all, real solutions.
M (age 53)
ASBL Empathy gave us the support and warmth we needed
ASBL Empathy gave us the support and warmth we needed
“Elisa’s weight was dipping at a breakneck pace and we realized that we could no longer carry this alone. We also didn’t want to let her go or leave her alone in the hospital, we knew what we didn’t want. She was so scared and her thinking so disturbed. ASBL Empathy gave us the support and warmth we needed to continue to support Elisa despite our feelings of desperation and helplessness. ‘Together’ we fought with her against her illness with support from the doctors, therapists, family, other girls with anorexia and their parents. It was the most terrible and tearful period in our lives but also a period of intense connection and humility for life. We are so happy that things are better now.”
C, Ghent
