Treating Eating Disorders with Stories and Metaphors
Eden (NZ Eating Difficulties Specialist) hosts international expert, Dr. Anita Johnston
16th April 2012
An international expert on eating disorders is coming to New Zealand promoting stories and metaphors as part of
treatment. Dr. Anita Johnson will explain to New Zealand health professionals how stories and metaphors can assist the
recovery process for a wide range of eating disorders from anorexia and bulimia to compulsive/binge eating and eating
disorders associated with severe obesity and bariatric surgery.
Anita has a track record of success. She is the Director of the Anorexia & Bulimia Center of Hawaii which she co-founded in 1982 and is the Clinical Director and the Founder of the ‘Ai Pono Intensive Out-Patient Eating Disorders Programs in Honolulu. She is a Senior Expert Clinical Consultant to several other centers too. She is the author of Eating in the Light of the Moon: How Women Can Transform Their Relationships with Food Through Myth, Metaphor, and
Storytelling which has been published in five languages.
This is not the first time Anita’s work is being used in New Zealand. Auckland based agency Eden - Eating Difficulties & Body Image Specialists since 1990 - have been using her material in their support groups for well over a decade.
Manager Deb Schwarz explains why her resources are so effective, “Disordered eating is incredibly complex. Often an
eating issue will be an attempted solution to other problems in an individual’s life. We use Anita’s resources in our
support groups because they help to explore the root triggers which have played a role in an individual’s struggle with
disordered eating.”
Eden is hosting an evening with Anita where she will be covering innovations in the treatment of eating disorders. Anita
will discuss the history and development of the therapeutic model for the treatment of eating disorders, integration and
use of metaphor in therapy, and the Intensive Outpatient treatment Program. In her presentation, she will use a lively
mix of storytelling and metaphor to describe the underlying issues in the treatment of eating disorders.
“The majority of those registering for Anita’s presentation are doctors, counsellors, nurses and other health
professionals who are working alongside those struggling with eating issues,” says Deb, “we are thrilled to see interest
from the medical community in the power of stories when working with those struggling with eating issues.”
Anita is presenting for one night only in New Zealand on the 30th of April. To register to hear Anita talk about
innovations in the treatment of eating disorders, see www.eden.org.nz.
ENDS