Student With Eating Disorder. HELP ?

Question

Hello , I am a teacher at a school , I teach at a highschool. I had a student the other day, that needed to "talk" to me about something important. She confronted me , and said that she feels shes bulimic. She said it all happened last year under alot of stress. And only one other person knows about this, her bestfriend, who came with her to talk to me. I promised her I wouldn't tell anybody unless she said I could. Shes scared of her mom finding out because her Mom has already threatned her if she ever had something like this she'd be put in a mental hospital. I dont know what to do. Any advice ? You could email me if you'd prefer .. [e-mail]

Thankyou.

Answer 1

Have a doctor come to come to talk to her but tell her that the doctor is "your husband/sister" and he'll help you. It'll help if you just lie to her for a while, and so the doctor can help by talking to her. Good luck

Answer 2

firstly a great source of info

http://www.mind.org.uk/Information/Factsheets/

http://www.mind.org.uk/Information/Booklets/Understanding/Understanding+eating+distress.htm

Bulimia is mental disorder and needs treatment. It is often associated with feeling of low self esteem so very rarely are patients admitted to clinics as this does not help the underlying so is only used in severe cases where dealing with the nutritional effects are paramount.

Clearly the realationship wiht the mother desn't look like promising and may be an underlying cause of the issue. Definately keep her out of the loop until you can assess further.

Therefore treatent is going to have to start (at least) with yourself and the friend. The key thing is to listen and don;t judge. Try to help her explore life issue to find the underlying casue(s). Do not betray her trust unless you feel her life is at risk.
Gently and slowly sugget that she tries to expand the network of people she is seeking help from (other teachers, school counselor, medical professionals, church leaders, family members, friends).
You will both need to read up on the issue and treatments (some suggestions are nincluded on the website I have linked to)

Answer 3

Young women with belimia tend to have more psychological problems and lower self-esteem than other dieters. Bulimia often occurs together with many kinds of psychological disorders, including alcoholism; major depression; and anxiety disorders such as panic disorder. Perhaps some forms of binge eating involves attempts at self-medication for emotional problems. I would be curious if she was being abused at home and isn't reaching out for help.

Answer 4

Her mother sounds like a real winner. First of all, a mental hospital is just that, a hospital. Her mother may be insensitive but at least she would get her where she needs to go. I wouldnt betray her confidence unless it looks like she is really in danger but I would encourage her to talk to her parents and make sure she knows it can be (and should be) treated.

Answer 5

dont tell anyone cuz if u do that stundent will never trust you again and that is the worst thing ever right now she is really trusting u right now that is not an easy thing to talk about!
u just have to help her throught it but telling anyone would be the worst thing to do!

Answer 6

I advise that you ask your student if whats bothering her, more often eating disorders are caused by certain issues like being more self conscious etc.. ask her to be more open to you and help her solve all her inhibitions.

Answer 7

Talk to your school nurse. She probably has much better and more current information than anyone here.