In this episode, Nikki and Aisling talk to Jay and Suzie – two of our service users about how Autism and anxiety can make the Christmas period difficult. Come and listen to Jay and Suzie share their thoughts and tips on how to manage and make Christmas fabulous..
Christmas is a time of celebration, a time where most families plan for weeks so that the two or three days of Christmas goes perfectly.. the perfect presents, perfect company and perfect food. Most of us look forward to this festive time, but for some, it’s filled with fear and anxiety.
In this episode, Nikki talks to Jay and Roshni, two of our service users talk about how celebrations such as Christmas, Diwali end Eid can be difficult for those with an eating disorder due to the strong emphasis on food and eating. Mark Taylor, a CAMHS Clinician and Specialist Eating Disorder Nurse joins the conversation along with Hope Virgo – a UK Eating disorder campaigner, author, public speaker advocate to share their knowledge and expertise. Hope leads the campaign to ‘dump the scales’ – a campaign to increase access to eating disorder services in the UK
This is a perfect opportunity to come listen in on the discussion and hear honest accounts of how such celebrations present challenges, how you can get your way through the day and how dinnertime bingo can get you through.. Yes.. I did say dinnertime bingo.. listen in to find out to learn about this and other tips for the day..
If you’d like to learn more about Hope’s campaign, find out about how you can invite her to speak publicly at your event, or learn more about her publications, go over to her website: http://www.hopevirgo.com/
Cultural diversity and access to services is an issue that is high on the agenda for CAMHS and there is no better way of understanding the needs of the BAME community than hearing directly from the young people that have accessed the service. Today, we are privileged to have four of our ex service users talk about judgement, understanding and how important it is for clinicians to be curious and open to challenging their own beliefs. We also are very happy to welcome Helen Anderson, a CAMHS Clinician based at the Bedford Clinic. Helen has joined the discussion today to further her understanding of the challenges and difficulties that our young service users experience and to discuss the changes that can be made to make the CAMHS service more inclusive and accessible to all.