I have written several articles about the LDS Family Services Addiction Recovery Program. I’ve also shared the recent Church video “You Will Be Freed” that explains that through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, all can be transformed, cleansed, and freed from addiction.
The Church News and Events has just published a great story about how the “Addiction Recovery Program Brings Individuals to Christ,” which includes the video featured below. I encourage you to read the article and share it with anyone who may benefit from knowing about this inspired program, which is for people struggling with any kind of addiction—drug dependency, alcoholism, pornography addiction, eating disorders, codependency, etc.
Learn about the new Addiction Recovery website.
Larry –
I’m so concerned about using the 12-step approach specifically with eating disorders. New emerging research suggests that anorexia, in particular, likely has its roots in biological brain damage (think autism). Can you imagine suggesting to someone with autism that they can choose to get better? Anorexia seems to be similarly not an addiction or a choice.
I can’t imagine someone with anorexia attending a 12-step meeting based on an addiction model – it could be devastating and potentially delay appropriate treatment. I have a son who was diagnosed with anorexia at age 11. He languished under old models of treatment (trying to convince him to eat and fix it himself). Once we understood this new research and changed his treatment approach to more of a medical approach, he immediately started recovering and within 18 months was fully weight restored. He is doing so well, now.
This new research is slowly making its way to established therapists and mainstream organizations, some of whom are changing their approach – but many are pretty entrenched in the old ways of thinking about eating disorders. But approaching the disease medically and with family support shows about an 80% success rate compared to about 20% with traditional methods.
Where LDS Family Services offers broad treatment services, they may not be aware of this new research and may just be continuing in old ways of thinking.
I would be happy to send you some university-based research that backs this up.
Wendy
Here are two statements from the NEDA (National Eating Disorders Association) about eating disorders (and that, in my opinion, suggest that an addiction model is inappropriate for treatment):
“People do not choose to have eating disorders.”
“Eating disorders are classified as a mental illness in the American
Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Health Disorders (DSM-IV), are considered to often have
a biologic basis, and co-occur with other mental illness such as
major depression, anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder.”
I had anorexia and it has a lot of components to it. I will never not have those thoughts and feelings of being anorexic and I fight them every day but the LDS ARP program is absolutely amazing. That and a counselor who talks to me about the thoughts and body image issues I have are the reasons I was able to get healthy. It is a mental disorder but the things taught in the 12 step program helped me realize some of the thoughts I was having were thoughts I could change. This program changed my life.