Ask the people closest to Louise how they’d describe her and you’ll hear three words repeated with a smile, she is determined, social and resilient.

Louise first came to Eating Disorders Families Australia (EDFA) as a partner attending our ARFID support group. At the same time, she was building a career in medical nutrition, developing a deep understanding of eating disorders through both professional training and personal experience. It wasn’t long before EDFA recognised the incredible knowledge, compassion and insight she could offer other families and four years later she continues to be one of our treasured volunteers.

Her own family’s journey is a testament to hope. Where there were once only around twenty “safe” beige foods there are now more than 130. She has also watched her partner, who had never worked, completely transform his life. Today he has a job, drives comfortably to unfamiliar territory, visits friends and can comfortably eat away from home. It is this kind of hard-won progress that reflects EDFA’s mission: to enable families and carers to be effective supports and recognised as a central member of the recovery team.

Those experiences shape the hope Louise quietly carries into every support group she facilitates.

She says one of the greatest lessons she’s learned is that no two recoveries look the same.

“What works on paper doesn’t always work for all people.”

It’s a reminder she offers often, particularly for families navigating neurodivergence and PDA, where traditional treatment approaches don’t always fit. Every family has its own path and every step forward matters, even when it doesn’t feel like it.

One memory has stayed with her above all the others.

One evening she logged in to facilitate our Partners Support Group and just one gentleman joined. Instead of feeling awkward, it became an honest conversation between two people who simply understood. They talked, connected and shared the weight that partners often carry quietly.

“It felt like catching up with a mate.”

Louise says she especially loves when male partners join the groups. There’s a vulnerability and openness that many don’t often get the chance to express and having another partner who truly understands can make all the difference.

When asked what she wishes more people understood about eating disorders, her answer comes without hesitation.

Carers are carrying far more than most people realise.

The appointments, the planning, the emotional energy, the constant decision-making, the financial pressures and the mental load don’t stop when treatment ends for the day. Families are living this every hour, often with very little time left to care for themselves.