Caylie V

“I readily admit that as it related to the ED, I couldn't understand the value of a dietician when our therapist first suggested it. Our daughter was already seeing a therapist weekly and knew ALOT about food, nutrition, and healthy eating habits (yes, we understand the irony). I couldn't have been more wrong. Our daughter was depressed, angry, withdrawn; she felt unreachable no matter what we tried. Having our Dietitian meant that we could step back from ensuring my daughter was eating enough calories to survive and focusing on making sure she wasn't getting sicker, and focus on supporting, encouraging, and validating her needs and experience. I cannot express this enough: THIS WAS LIFE CHANGING. She 'held our hands' as we learned how to sit with our daughter as she tried new challenges. She provided multiple resources and strategies that we used to help my daughter - we were fearful of pushing her too hard that she'd shut down, and also fearful of not holding the line and letting the ED gain traction; without our Dietitian it would have been incredibly difficult for us to know what to do. She was such a steadying and encouraging force whenever we had questions or we had a difficult experience, and a wonderful cheerleader when things went well. There is absolutely no question that our Dietitian was absolutely invaluable to us.”