Australian premiere of residential eating disorder facility on Sunshine Coast
Serena Riley was 10 when she started her first diet. It escalated into a nine-year battle with anorexia and bulimia.
DISCLAIMER: This article contains content on eating disorders that may be triggers for some readers.
She was obsessed with body image, weight, shape and size in secret.
“This fixation gave an illusion of control, it was something I felt I had little in other areas of my life,” Ms. Riley said.
At 19, she told her mother about the demons that had consumed her for nearly a decade and bravely confessed to her bulimia.
For months they desperately searched for help and when they couldn’t find her, she attempted to kill herself.
“When I realized… that I could be stuck with this eating disorder indefinitely, I gave up.”
An emergency room nurse offered Ms Riley the first glimmer of hope that her life might be different.
“I was being brought on a stretcher and she put her hand on my arm and said, ‘I’ve been where you are, and you can get better, it can get better.’
Ms Riley, now 29, has fully recovered from her eating disorder and has become a mother and nurse.
She is the head of the nursing unit at Australia’s first residential treatment center for eating disorders – Wandi Nerida on the Sunshine Coast.
Provided: Butterfly Foundation
)The 13-bed private hospital is owned and operated by the Butterfly Foundation as part of its “B-FREEDT” model of care, which incorporates connectivity, mental health support, permaculture and equine therapy.
Director Jodie Ashworth said of the center’s 35 employees, a third had had an experience with an eating disorder.
She is one of them.
“I have a daughter who has recovered from bulimia and it was an incredibly difficult and difficult time when I first discovered her eating disorder,” said Ashworth.
“As a mom, I didn’t know how I missed it, but the secrecy of an eating disorder makes an impact throughout the family.
“It’s hard, even now, for me to reconcile the guilt I feel for not understanding this back then.”
ABC Sunshine Coast: Kylie Bartholomew
)Ms Ashworth said Wandi Nerida was filling a gap in the way people with eating disorders were treated.
“Hospitals have played a very important role for people affected by eating disorders, in that when you are physically ill, hospitals save lives.
“What Wandi Nerida is is the next stage of care, where you can benefit from intensive psychological recovery and support before returning to the community.
The pandemic is exacerbating demand
Ms Ashworth said there had been more than 600 potential admissions applications, including 30% from New South Wales and 28% from Queensland.
She said the demand was not surprising given the pandemic, during which calls to the Butterfly Foundation’s helpline increased by 57%.
Admissions to the center for people over 16 will be through a GP, psychiatrist or online referral and participants are expected to stay for approximately 60 days.
Although the rooms have standard hospital beds, there is little resemblance to a hospital setting.
The lemongrass aroma that floats on all floors ensures that.
Most rooms are double occupancy with attached bathrooms, a retractable privacy screen between the beds, and no full-length mirrors.
Interior designers and those with lived experience selected the colors and placement of furniture, lighting and artwork.
Ms Ashworth said the attention to detail had been for good reason.
ABC Sunshine Coast: Kylie Bartholomew
)“So special care has been taken in the design to make this residence not just a home, but a safe home. “
Ms Ashworth said the center has the capacity to change the way eating disorders are treated in Australia.
Hope for change
Laura Zuber, a recovery navigator at the center, welcomed the change.
She suffered from anorexia for five years and is now fully recovered, but at her lowest point, she was not wearing nail polish or jewelry for fear it would weigh her down.
ABC Sunshine Coast: Kylie Bartholomew
)“By the time I had lost enough weight and was considered small enough to have anorexia, I was then on a six-month waiting list to even be diagnosed, another waiting list. six months to even get treatment.
“When I first started receiving treatment, I was always told that there were people sicker than you, so people had to be seen before you.
“It constantly reinforces the idea that you have to be sicker to get treatment.”
Phillipa Hay, of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, said the facility has changed the way eating disorders are treated in Australia by making much more use of professionals with lived experience.
“It offers a real alternative to traditional hospital programs and complements less intensive care such as day programs and outpatients,” said Professor Hay.
Professor Hay said research indicates less restrictive environments are potentially more acceptable and likely to hold people back in care.
As the staff at Wandi Nerida prepare to welcome their first group of participants next month, Ms. Zuber beamed with pride in being able to support others along their journey.
“I really didn’t think there was hope; I had never seen an example of someone recovered.
Provided: Butterfly Foundation
)Coworker Serena Riley agreed.
“Many of the participants who come here may not actually be able to imagine the recovery or think it is a possibility.
“So I hope that to be able to see someone who also felt like this – but who is now fully recovered and has remained fully recovered for years and is able to work – it will also be that additional ray of hope for them. . “
