Media contact: Stephen Taylor-Parker, Managing Director, Media Innovations Ltd Tel: 0113 201 5566 / 5560, Mob: 07703 114236,
Email: stp@media-innovations.ltd.uk

18^th February 2010

Embargo: 00:01hrs BST,  Monday 22nd February 2010

Eating Disorders Awareness Week 22nd to 28th February 2010:

Media Innovations update clinically proven and effective online self help for those with bulimia and for the carers of those with anorexia

Media Innovations - the Leeds based firm that converts academic research into educational, self-help and diagnostic support packages have released online interventions based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for bulimia suffers and for the families or carers of those who have anorexia.

The intervention for Bulimia which can be found at www.overcomingbulimiaonline.com helps users develop structured CBT skills using video, sound and interactive questions. The materials lead the user clearly through a process of identifying issues in their life and how to develop strategies to change their current situation for the better.

Descriptions of the package by users include, “straight-forward, easy and user-friendly”, “…a way of being in control because of the convenience of online access”, alongside this they often report more comfortable using a computer than speaking directly with a therapist”.

Individuals can be supported and monitored by their practitioner, therapist or counsellor who can check the user’s progress online. The intervention offers healthcare providers a high-quality, low-cost intervention, supporting such schemes as ‘Improving Access to Psychological Therapies’ (IAPT) by helping individuals to get immediate help and support.

Our widely acclaimed intervention www.overcominganorexiaonline.com teaches family or supporters of Anorexia sufferers the skills necessary to identify the issues surrounding this serious disorder and become expert carers. The carer or family member works through 8 sessions to help them to understand the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of the anorexia sufferer. Topics include effective communication, how to prevent relapse, meal support, self-management in crises, and dealing with binging, purging and other difficult behaviours.

Both interventions have a forum available for users to share their experiences and support each other. One carer on the Overcoming Anorexia forum wrote that,
“The information included in this programme has taught me some things I was still unaware of even after six years of reading books, attending therapy sessions with my daughter. It is an opportunity to off load fears and concerns and the annoyance I sometimes feel towards my daughter. I know that what I say will be treated confidentially, be heard by someone who understands my situation and once I have got things off my chest I feel I can put it aside for a while. I would urge anyone else who is caring for a person with an eating disorder to think about joining this programme - you have nothing to lose and plenty to gain.”

Notes

1. Media Innovations originally a spinout company from the University of Leeds in the UK. Media Innovations is a leading provider of multimedia Cognitive Behavioural Therapy training materials for Mental Health, particularly in the areas of Depression, Anxiety, Bulimia and Anorexia. The company is also a significant developer of Risk Management and Diagnostic Support Tools to the medical profession. Multimedia-based products are powerful communication tools, which stimulate the senses of hearing, vision, and touch by delivering a rich combination of media components in an interactive software environment.

2. Professor Christopher Williams is Professor of Psychosocial Psychiatry and Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, UK. His main clinical and research interest is in the area of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and in particular in looking at ways of disseminating this approach more widely. He has developed written and computer-based self-help treatments for anxiety, depression and bulimia and is a well-known CBT researcher, trainer and teacher. He is a Past-President of the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies - the lead body for CBT in the United Kingdom (www.BABCP.com) and also a past Governing Board member of the United Kingdom for Psychotherapy (UKCP). He is a Director of Glasgow Institute of Psychosocial Interventions (GIPSI) - which has a focus on training and research in evidence-based psychosocial interventions. He is also a Patron of the charities Triumph over Phobia - a user-led self-help organisation addressing self-management of anxiety (www.triumphoverphobia.com) and also of Anxiety UK - the anxiety disorders charity (www.anxietyuk.org.uk A full biography is available at: http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/psychologicalmedicine/ourstaff/allstaff/drchriswilliams/ )

3. Overcomingbuimiaonline.com offers the individual patient an online eight session course which includes a workbook and an assignment every week to encourage a change of behaviour and improve wellbeing. Individuals should be monitored and supported by a practitioner who can check their progress online. Using the clinically validated Cognitive Behavioural Therapy model (CBT), the multi-media programme enables Mental Health and general practitioners in Primary Care Trusts to support people with mild to moderate depression as part of a stepped care intervention.
Overcomingbulmiaonline encourages and motivates the progress of individuals through automated reminders and immediate feedback. Those who use the package find it simple, convenient, confidential, anonymous and accessible. In utilising CBT, the package educates the person through identifying patterns of unhelpful behaviour by providing structured, task-driven objectives. Users of the package have described the benefits as follows: straight-forward, easy and user-friendly; a way of being in control because of the convenience of online access: and the anonymity of using a computer made them feel more able to approach a therapist.
Overcomingbulimiaonline forms part of a suite of computerised online self-help products (cCBT), which includes interventions for Depression, Anxiety, Anorexia and Bulimia.
All the online interventions are designed for use in primary or secondary care settings and utilise clinically proven cognitive behavioural therapy. Linked DVD and written resources including versions in different languages means that CBT can be accessed by more people – who can work when and how they want to receive the support they need.

4. CBT and evidence-based self-help therapies have been identified as two key priority treatments for bulimia sufferers by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), in the treatment and management of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and related eating disorders.

5. Eating Disorder Awareness Week (22rd-28th February 2010) organised by B-EAT (the UK’s leading Eating Disorders charity), is a time to discuss the issues surrounding eating disorders and is a great opportunity to raise awareness about the treatment and support options available for both sufferers of eating disorders and their carers.

6. The content has been authored by the respected CBT practitioner Dr Chris Williams, who as a Past-President of British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (www.BABCP.com) has many years experience in the treatment patients suffering from eating disorders, depression and anxiety.

The courses have been researched with the help of B-EAT and updated in collaboration with Dr Ulrike Schmidt an internationally recognised expert in eating disorders from the Institute of Psychiatry in London. Professor Janet Treasure, Director of the Eating Disorder Unit at South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, and Chief Medical Officer at B-EAT, also contributed to Overcoming Anorexia Online.

For further information please contact:
 
Stephen Taylor-Parker
Managing Director Media Innovations
Airebank House
419 Kirkstall Road
Leeds United Kingdom
LS4 2EZ
Tel +44(0)113 201 5560 (Switchboard)
Tel +44(0)113 201 5566 (Direct Dial)
Fax +44(0)113 201 5579
Cell +44(0)7703 114236
Email s.taylor-parker@media-innovations.ltd.uk