Eating Disorders have become a growing concern in the Middle-Eastern community. Though the exact cause is unknown, it is generally believed that a variety of factors including genetics, environmental, cultural and psychosocial aspects contribute to the development of this illness.
Anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and overeating disorders can have numerous symptoms such as –
- Adherence to increasingly strict diets, regardless of weight
- Secretly bingeing on large quantities of food
- Increase in consumption of laxatives or diet pills
- Exercising extensively, often several hours per day
Committed to educating, preventing and assisting those in need, the American Center for Psychiatry and Neurology has launched the first specialized comprehensive evidence-based eating disorders outpatient service in the country. Available in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai branches, this is the first facility to offer an effective solution for patients living in the Middle East that wish to receive treatment without having to leave his/her environment.
Commenting on the launch, Carine El Khazen Hadati, Clinical Psychologist, Eating Disorders Practitioner and the Director of Eating Disorder Program at American Center for Psychiatry and Neurology, said, “With our regular and intensive outpatient program offering medical, nutritional, psychological and psychiatric care, we will be able to treat any type of eating disorders whether mild or severe. The introduction of this program offers patients an affordable and effective treatment option to those who are unable to travel. It also dismisses sufferers from having to travel abroad to attend in-patient specialized care while having to deal with separation from loved ones, adaptation to a new environment, stigma and financial cost- that will have detrimental repercussions on the overall prognosis.”
