Eating Disorders Support Group Monthly meeting information
Every first Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm
Location: Ben Gordon Center, 12 Health Services Drive
For more information, call or email:
Fran Tierney MA LCPC or Vanessa Osmer MA LPC at 815.756.4875 or email at eatingdisorders@bengordoncenter.org
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders
P.O. Box 640, Naperville, IL 60566 www.anad.org
“You must love yourself before you love another.
By accepting yourself and fully being what you are,
your simple presence can make others happy.”
Thursday, February 28th—Main Event : Own It! Embrace your Beauty, Fashion Show at Northern Illinois University. Stop by our table and plan to stay for The Fashion Show event, which will be emceed by BGC Special Programs Manager, Fran Tierney MA LCPC. Our Special Programs Staff, including Vanessa Osmer, MA LPC; Catherine Smith, BA; Martha O’Gorman, RD; will be available to answer your questions about our Eating Disorders treatment program.
Thursday, February 28th—Our event at Kishwaukee Community College. Stop by our informational table and plan to join us for a screening of the documentary THIN. Special Programs clinician, Christine Anderson MA LCPC, will be hosting this event and she will be available to answer your questions. This event will be held at 11am-2pm in the Commons Area, Room C1 (Lobby) & Room C1121 for the film and power point presentation.
Friday, March 1st – Presentation: Eating Disorders and African American Women; Presented by Special Programs Case Manager, Catherine Smith, BA. This event will be held at NIU in the Holmes Student Center, from 12-1pm.
BGC Special Programs Events:
Give Yourself the Freedom to live…and the Belief that YOU are Enough!
To increase awareness and encourage eating disorder treatment, Ben Gordon Center is offering anonymous online eating disorder screenings through the online mental health screenings on our website. The eating disorder screening consists of a brief online questionnaire designed to provide the general population with insight into symptoms they might be experiencing and offers helpful treatment and referral information, if necessary. Ben Gordon Center will recognize National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (February 24-March 2). More details to follow on the BGC events for Eating Disorders Awareness Week.
Eating disorders are more prevalent than many people realize. Of the estimated 5 to 
10 million female Americans who suffer from some form of eating disorder, experts are reporting a rise among adult women. Just like teenagers, middle-aged women are going through many physical and emotional changes. According to one survey, 57 percent of middle-aged women reported being dissatisfied with their bodies—three points higher than the rate for teenage girls. And males are not immune. Increasingly, men are feeling the pressure for physical perfection which can lead to excessive exercise and fixation on low body fat percentage.
Facts about Eating Disorders:
Sometimes, whether we realize it or not, we make food a stand-in for dealing with the stresses or difficult feelings in our life. Here’s a quote to think about:
“For many years it felt that food had cast a spell on me. It called to me from the cupboard, the display case, the concession stand. It filled the empty moments. It took the edge off the day. It was something I loved. But I hated how much control it had over me…I realized that I had assigned to food many jobs that I felt unable to do for myself.” -Alison Ross
Eating Disorders Support Group Monthly meeting information
Every first Thursday of the month at 6:30 pm
Location: Ben Gordon Center, 12 Health Services Drive
For more information, call or email:
Fran Tierney MA LCPC or Vanessa Osmer MA LPC at 815.756.4875 or email at
eatingdisorders@bengordoncenter.org
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders
P.O. Box 640, Naperville, IL 60566 www.anad.org
Love Your Body Day 2012: Wednesday, Oct. 17
Love Your Body Campaign:
What’s It All About?
Join us today, Ben Gordon Center special programs will have a table set up at our central office with information about self-acceptance and body acceptance. We will have handouts, as well as information about our Eating Disorders and Non-Suicidal Self Injury Recovery programs.
Please stop by and fight back by learning more about self acceptance and improving your body image.
For any question about our programs please contact Fran Tierney at 815-756-4875 or at eatingdisorders@bengordoncenter.org
Constantly thinking about food, weight, and body image…?
• Are you always dissatisfied with your body?
• Do you ever deny or hide your eating behavior?
• Do you compulsively exercise?
• Do you ever make yourself vomit after a meal to “control” your weight?
• Do you binge or ”emotionally eat?”
• Are you counting calories, fat grams, preoccupied with numbers and the size of your clothes?
• Do you have a friend or family member who needs help but you’re not sure what to do?
Monthly meeting information
Every first Thursday of the month at 7:00pm
Location: Ben Gordon Center, 12 Health Services Drive
For more information, call or email:
Fran Tierney MA LCPC or Vanessa Osmer MA at 815.756.4875
National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders
P.O. Box 640, Naperville, IL 60566 www.anad.org
We offer a full range of treatment for individuals and their families who are struggling with an Eating Disorder, including:
Research published in the June issue of Pediatrics found that teens’ risk of eating disorders was affected by the number of family meals they attended. In a review of 17 studies on eating habits, the authors found that when teens ate three or more meals a week with their families, they were: 35% less likely to develop disordered eating – including binging and purging, using diet pills, inducing vomiting, using laxatives or diuretics, fasting, restricting, skipping meals, using food substitutes, and smoking cigarettes to lose weight; 12% less likely to be overweight; 20% less likely to eat unhealthy foods; and 24% more likely to eat healthy foods.
While it’s commonly believed that teens will avoid family meals, the authors found that “adolescents stated that they would most like their parents to prepare healthy meals at home. It seems that there is interest by adolescents as well as receptivity in participating in family mealtimes, eating healthy foods, and learning about nutrition.”
The authors praised the benefits of shared mealtimes: “For children or adolescents with disordered eating, mealtimes may provide a setting in which parents can recognize early signs and take steps to prevent detrimental patterns from turning into full-blown eating disorders. Indeed, dieting has been recognized as a precursor for the development of eating disorders. In addition, family meals are predictive of family-connectedness, which may encourage adolescents to talk about such issues within their families.
The Ben Gordon Center is pleased to announce a new partnership with the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders. “There has not been a free support group for those suffering from an Eating Disorder in DeKalb County for quite some time, so this is very exciting for us to offer”, said Michael Flora, President & CEO of BGC. “This group is for anyone in our community who is struggling with or thinks they may have an eating disorder”, said Fran Tierney MA LCPC, the group’s professional sponsor and therapist at BGC, specializing in the treatment of Eating Disorders.