1. Network of professionals and Patients’ non-profit organizations From Nîmes to Montpellier From Nîmes to Montpellier [email_address] “ L’ACT, redonnons du sens au comportement alimentaire” www.sudtca.fr London the 1st of April
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3. 1 st conference: February 1 st 2008 for professionals and February 2 nd for the general public The first answer T C A = DISorder A C T = REorder www.sudtca.fr Meet professionals London the 1st of April
4. FNA-TCA gathers all French ED organizations AFDAS-TCA a co-organization of professional and family organizations Regional and national network after Nîmes conference networks with hospitals Specific work with hospital Discussion groups for patients and parents Emergency call London the 1st of April
5. Outpatient Training Hospital in Montpellier and Nîmes Out of hospital Hospital Patient What we do... Assessement/expertise(?) center research somatic and psychiatric evaluation Psychology PsychoTherapies Nutrition Relation to food Feeding behaviors Physician Checks weight Declares emergency Blood tests emergency and long term hospitalization non-profit organization Specialized discussion groups for families and patients Conferences and networking with other organizations London the 1st of April
6. 2 nd conference for professionals and the general public on March 13 th and 14 th 2009 Patients and their families International networks Hospitals London the 1st of April
7. Thank you for your attention London the 1st of April [email_address] “ L’ACT, redonnons du sens au comportement alimentaire” www.sudtca.fr
Editor's Notes
Good afternoon, my name is Nicolas Sahuc, and I’m glad to be here and to be in this french team. I would like to thank the organizers too. I come from the south of France, the cicada country! I have been working as a dietician since october 2003. I started my own private practice in 2004 in Nîmes and Montpellier. I’m going to present you what I have been doing in my region since 2007 to help people with ED through a non-profit-organization. During my practise, I realised that some people: - regulated their emotions by taking or refusing food - others had control on food to increase their confidence - some of them use binge eating to feel secure. My first experience in ED was very hard. The patient was a BMI of just 10 and she was a former anorexic. During my studies I wasn’t aware of the psychosocial aspect and treatment of ED. I felt lost and afraid. This experience and this emotion led me to take a course in ED at St Anne Hospital in Paris in 2006, and last year I started training in cognitive and behavioral therapy at the Med School in Montpellier. (NEXT PICTURE)
After Paris, I received some patients with an ED and I looked for a team to work with. I only found few specialized professionnals and unfortunately there is no specialized unit in the area. The very few beds reserved for ED in Montpellier are in the endocrinology or psychiatric services. These beds are for lower weight in priority, for patients with BMI lower than 14, and sometimes for bulimia. The problem is in some cases when the patient has frequent crisis or when their weigth goes down too fast, a unit would be necessary. And the other problem for patients, when they accept the ttt at the hospital, is to be confronted with other people’s illnesses. I felt the same anger and loneliness as patient or parents could feel and that’s why I asked myself “ how I could help them to cope with the illnesses out of hospital”. (NEXT PICTURE)
With a friend doctor, we organized the first convention about ED in LR: - first to explain ED to the public, help the ones get out of loneliness and help the others understand the latters. - and for the professionals because during the consultation ED doesn’t come to professionals’ mind - and gather professionals interested in ED. After the convention, we created the non-profit organization and a website to be found more easily in the south of France. The website regroups 3 non-profit organizations from Perpignan to Marseille. Patients and parents came after the convention and joined us into the organization. I called “L’ACT” it’s a pun because in France ED translates as T.C.A. and meaning there is a disorder During the treatment we help patients to redorer their food behavior and their life. So, understand L’ACT as: help the patient to find the real meaning of his/her life and reorganize it.
Since the organization was born, we have joined two national organizations: The FNA-TCA which regroups all French ED organizations. And the second national organization L’ AFDAS-TCA which combines professionals and family organizations, chaired by Pr JL Venisse. After Nimes convention’s, the non-profit organization grew up and took a real place in the treatment of ED. We started discussion groups for patients and families in the evening to make sure they are availalble which would be impossible in a hospital. With 2 psychologists, we receive emergency phone calls to help patients, parents or professionals in the search for a specialist, During this phone call we reassure the patient, we evaluate the situation and we send them either to the hospital or to a professional in ambulatory. At nimes and montpellier hospitals we created specific times for ED consultations and can receive them rapidly. (NEXT PICTURE)
During the day, patients can be received for specific tests and consultations in endocrinology sces. If there is an emergency they can keep patients in. So we can have a more precise idea about the situation. The endocrinologist or psychiatrist decides to see them at the hospital and in the meantime we follow the patients in ambulatory with a team composed of a physician, nutritionist or dietician and a psychologist. The next step is the creation of an expert center planned for 2009 in Montpellier where we will evaluate ED and refer the patients to the right units or services. In september we will have a qualification in ED. Hopefully a specialized unit will be created in the years to come to welcome ED patients.
Today, the organization help patients and parents trough convention, or meeting, phone call and discussion groups. The difficulty is to create homogeneous discussion groups and sometimes they have to wait until another group can be formed. Indeed we have to concentrate on each patient’s own point of evolution. Moreover some of them are unconsiously reluctant to change: - for instance, with anorexia nervosa; “ if I change, my parents won’t pay attention to my deep problems, that’s why I don’t want to change. If I’m not ill, they will not take care of me”. That’s why when possible we work with the parents to help them understand these unconscious processes in discussion group. - With bulimia, binge eating help them control stress, “ how will I control my stress if i don’t fill myself with food”. In this case we suggest mindfulness practise or relaxation tools to control the crisis. We’ve just organized the 2nd convention in Nîmes and next year the organization of Perpignan will organize it. A flower needs sap to grow up. In the same way, we want to help the patients realize the existence of their own “sap” and free it in order to reach their own blooming.