Nearly half of all Americans know someone struggling with an eating disorder. Eating disorders are life-threatening and affect 8 million Americans. Men and women with eating disorders rarely seek help and 20% of people suffering from anorexia die from related complications, including suicide and heart problems. In effort to address this issue, the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (LICADD) is extending its services to reach those suffering from the illness by offering an ongoing Eating Disorder Support Group this fall.
LICADD’s professionally facilitated Eating Disorder Support Group will be offered to men and women ages 18 and up. The group will meet weekly to explore anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive overeating. Participants will receive information on a variety of effective techniques which they can be used to help control obsessive thoughts, body weight, and eating habits.
LICADD clinician, Joanne Devitt, LPN, CASAC stated, “This service will help men and women identify and cope with co-occurring disorders including eating disorders, substance abuse, anxiety, depression, and obsessive compulsive disorder. My hope is that friends and family members will encourage those affected to seek help immediately.” Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among young females. The mortality rate associated with anorexia nervosa is 12 times higher than the death rate of ALL causes of death for females 15 – 24 years old.
LICADD will begin its Eating Disorder Support Group on Monday, September 26, 2011 from 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. at the agency’s Ronkonkoma office, conveniently located at 2805 Veterans Memorial Highway, Suite 26, just off of the Long Island Expressway. The fee is $20 per group session, though nobody will be turned away based on an inability to pay. Services will be offered in Nassau County this fall. To schedule an intake appointment or for further information, please contact Joanne Devitt at jdevitt@licadd.org or 631-979-1700.
With offices in Williston Park, Ronkonkoma, and Riverhead, LICADD provides expert evaluation, addiction assessments, and early intervention services to individuals, children, and families impacted by substance abuse, and spearheads evidence-based prevention education programs in a variety of settings. LICADD facilitates screened treatment placements, runs relapse prevention support groups, and remains Long Island’s only non-profit agency conducting planned family interventions.
