UK Families of Male Eating Disorder Patients

If you are the family of a male patient with anorexia in the UK, a TV news show would like to interview you.

If you are interested, please write me as soon as possible (the show is Thursday of this week).

As always, F.E.A.S.T. encourages parents to consider media queries but to do so with caution. From our media page:

Speaking with the Media

  

The F.E.A.S.T. Speaker's Bureau volunteers are members who have agreed to consider media interviews. We do not endorse or investigate the credentials of journalists; we are passing on these queries as a courtesy and in hopes of getting parent voices into the media discussion of eating disorders.

While F.E.A.S.T. is eager to add caregiver-oriented voices to the public view of eating disorders, we also want to encourage responsible journalism and caution interviewees of potential issues.

•   Families can refuse to participate in exploitive or sensationalist interviews

•   Parents can ask for anonymity for themselves and their children, or use pseudonyms

•   Parents can refuse to answer questions about medical details like weights, and refuse to provide pictures of a patient when gravely ill

•   Before/After photos of patients are a potentially harmful visual cliché that misleads the public about a mental illness that cannot be understood by appearance

•   Families can ask for details of the planned piece, but need to know that there is no guarantee that the original vision will apply to the finished product

•   Journalists are rarely familiar with the stigma, history, or issues involved with eating disorders, and may hold antiquated ideas

•   Eating disorders are complex, but media reports are by design very simple and may miss important points

•   Parents should think through all possible consequences of public scrutiny of family and patient before agreeing to an interview

•   No family should feel pressured to do interviews or answer questions that cause them discomfort

For more information on media responsibility, please read NEDA’s Tips for Responsible Media Coverage.