Resources for clinicians
Island Health Eating Disorder & Mental Health Resources:
Island Health Regional Coordinator, Eating Disorders Program, Child & Youth MHSU - Crystal Frost
Can assist in providing information for clinicians as well as connecting clients to outpatient services in the Cowichan Valley, Central Island, and North Island.
Phone: 250-519-5390 ext. 36925
Island Health adult eating disorder psychiatrist - Dr. Cliff Duncalf
Provides in-person & tele-health consultation.
Tele-health consultation - 1-250-370-8199
In-person referral in Victoria is through the South Island Eating Eating Disorder Program - phone: 250-370-0000
Island Health CARES (outpatient mental health & addiction services) referral form.
B.C. Eating Disorder Resources
RACE Line Information
Contact RACE support lines for St. Paul’s Eating Disorder Program for internal medicine, psychiatric, nursing, and dietetic advice (there are multiple provincial protocols on various ED related treatment concerns.)
Please note, the RACE line should be contacted whenever a patient/client is admitted to a non-ED specific hospital unit and/or with staff who do not regularly work with eating disorders - the provincial standards are specific regarding numerous protocols.
RACE Phone Line
Monday to Friday 0800-1700
Local Calls: 604-696-2131
Toll Free: 1-877-696-2131
RACE website - http://www.raceconnect.ca/contact-us/
B.C. Clinical Eating Disorder Guidelines
Balanced View - free, online learning resource designed to raise awareness about weight bias and stigma in health care and to help health care professionals reduce weight bias and stigma in practice.
B.C. Children’s Emergency Room Guidelines for Eating Disorders in Young Persons.
Providence Health’s Emergency Room Guidelines for Eating Disorders in Adults. (Please note that this guideline is very limited and focuses primarily on BMI in eating disorder patients. Eating disorders are mental health disorders, not weight disorders.)
2023 Eating Disorders Toolkit: Standards of Practice in the Primary Care Setting - 2nd Edition by Dr. Jennifer Mooney and the Provincial Steering Committee.
Referral forms for provincial eating disorder treatment options: Looking Glass Residence and St. Paul’s & Discovery/Vista referral guidelines & forms
B.C. Centres for Excellence in Eating Disorders - subscribe to their newsletter for regular updates on new research & available resources.
Embody professional resources page - Embody provides education and resources that support the development of healthy relationships between nutrition, movement, and body image for youth. Their resources are targeted to teachers, dietitians, therapists, and other supportive adults.
Kelty Mental Health - information & resources on various mental health issues including eating disorders in B.C.
Screening Tools & Healthcare Resources
HAES Eating Disorder Screening.
Assessment of Current Eating Issues Checklist.
SCOFF Questionnaire - a simple assessment that can be used to determine the possible presence of an eating disorder or disordered eating. Further assessment is recommended.
Diagnostic & Statistical Manual (5th edition) - current diagnostic criteria for eating disorders.
Recommended Reading
“Sick Enough” by Jennifer Gaudiani
Overview - provides a frame of reference for understanding/interpreting the ways in which eating disorders can present physiologically
“Famished” by Rebecca Lester
Overview - provides insight into the ways in which standardized eating disorder treatment reinforces the eating disorder and/or causes harm
“Wasted” by Marya Hornbacher
Overview - a very blunt/graphic depiction of anorexia and bulimia nervosa; provides insight into the ways in which someone might experience these types of eating disorder behaviours, the level of disordered thinking, etc.
“Trauma-Informed Approaches to Eating Disorders” Eds. Seubert & Virdi
Overview - highlights the relationship between trauma and eating disorders, some of the research around these topics, as well as therapeutic approaches that have been utilized
“Not That Bad” Ed. Roxanne Gay
Overview - a collection of essays on rape culture and people’s experiences (similar to much of Gay’s work, it is very blunt and raw, but therein lies its power)
“Hunger” by Roxanne Gay
Overview - though Gay does not claim an eating disorder diagnosis per se, this book is a personal reflection of her experiences of weight stigma, sexual assault, and the impact that had on her relationship with food and her body
“Health At Every Size” by Lindo Bacon
Overview - though Bacon has been recognized as a harmful person, this book does provide a background for the HAES movement and different ways of viewing weight, food, health, etc. We recommend referring to the Association of Size Diversity & Health for resources that are not associated with Lindo Bacon.
General Information & Resources
What Medical Personnel and Clinicians Need to Know About Eating Disorders Educational Video.
National Eating Disorder Information Centre (NEDIC)
Neurodiversity Informed Care Resources:
