Upcoming
Information Sessions
Eating Disorders Families Australia’s (EDFA) National EDucation Program is accredited to the National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards.
Eating Disorders Families Australia delivers twice-monthly Information Sessions for families and carers of individuals with eating disorders.
Watch A FREE Information Session
Watch a FREE Session
Renowned Eating Disorder Therapist, Carolyn Costin, joined EDFA at an Information Session. This session is freely available to Australian carers to learn more about how to strengthen your loved one’s ‘healthy self’.
Become A Member
Members can access our live Information Sessions for free as part of membership (you’ll need to register for each Information Session). EDFA is currently offering FREE membership for carers in SA and QLD.
Watch Past Sessions
EDFA membership also gives you access to recordings of Information Sessions after the event. All sessions are recorded, and can be accessed by members after the event.
Join A Session in Your Language
With credentialed interpreters fluent in over 150 languages, we can now better support carers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Upcoming Information Sessions
As a lived experience organisation, we are proud to share stories of those with their own lived experience, giving strength and hope to families that their loved ones can recover and lead fulfilling lives. Information sessions also feature clinicians focusing on medical and nutritional aspects of dealing with an eating disorder in the family.
As EDFA takes a unbiased approach to treatment, clinicians, and pathways of care, we are proud to share knowledge from speakers on different treatments and approaches.
What to expect
Our Information Sessions take place on the first Thursday and third Monday each month, 8:00-9:15pm AEDT.
- One-hour speaker-led sessions, followed by a 15-minute Q&A
- Hosted by carers with their own lived experience caring for a loved one with an eating disorder
- No expectation to share – feel free to come along and listen
- You can access the slides shared at the beginning of each Information Session here
If your loved one has been diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa, they will most likely have been treated using Family Based Treatment (FBT), a first-line evidence-based treatment in Australia. FBT can be very challenging for the whole family, including the person with the eating disorder, and their parents and siblings. Hearing from others who have shared in these experiences can be valuable in helping you deal with FBT in your own family.
Vicki Kiddle and Briony Tyquin will share their experiences with undergoing FBT as a family, throughout their daughter’s Anorexia Nervosa. Vicki Kiddle is one of our brilliant facilitators for EDFA’s Newbie Carer Support Group, and shares her strategies for new carers monthly – many of whom are undergoing FBT – while Briony is a moderator on EDFA’s private Facebook group, and has incredible insight into the unique carer experience.
EDFA will moderate a Q&A with Briony and Vicki from 9:00-9:15pm.
Please note this session is open for both EDFA members and non-members.
As a mum of a daughter who has recovered from Anorexia Nervosa, Kelley Robertson has borne the brunt of seeing her child very unwell, fighting the gaps in the system and living with the fear of losing her daughter. Now on the other side of recovery, Kelley can share her story of hope.
In this session, Kelley will share her experience of helping her daughter stay connected to self, rather than the eating disorder, and strategies for emotional behavioural regulation and lessening the eating disorder thoughts and negative voice. With hospital visits under her belt, Kelley will share tips on advocating for a loved one in hospital, which is a particularly stressful time.
EDFA will moderate a Q&A with Kelley from 9:00-9:15pm. To those in the trenches, know that there is hope of recovery!
Please note this session is open for EDFA members only.
In order to protect the health of people with eating disorders, we must turn our attention to the social lives of those affected. This is because eating disorder development, maintenance and recovery is embedded in group processes. For those diagnosed with an eating disorder, stigma has shown to have detrimental effects for health and recovery. However, people’s social connections (i.e., family and friend networks) can be used in a positive way to counter dysfunctional eating, weight and body-image norms.
Dr Foran will discuss how people’s everyday social connections influence health outcomes important for people with eating disorders during periods of transition and adjustment, such as recovery.
EDFA will moderate a Q&A with Aoife-Marie from 9:00-9:15pm
Dr Aoife-Marie Foran is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie DOROTHY Fellow at the University of Queensland, Australia and the University of Limerick, Ireland. Aoife’s PhD research explored the importance of people’s everyday social connections for the health and well-being of people living with eating disorders.
Please note this session is open for EDFA members only.
Two of EDFA team members, Laura and Sabine, share their journey developing and recovering from an eating disorder.
EDFA will moderate a Q&A with Laura and Sabine from 9:00-9:15pm.
Please note this session is open for EDFA members only.
Rodney shares his experience supporting his daughter through Family Based Treatment after her eating disorder diagnosis at 14. He took nine months off work to help her recover and now encourages other dads to play an active role.
Linda, a clinical psychologist and mum, discusses her daughter’s recovery journey and how support from EDFA programs, a dietitian, and a recovery coach helped her daughter get well enough to live and study overseas.
EDFA will moderate a Q&A with Rodney and Linda from 9:00-9:15pm.
An incredibly supportive father, Rodney took nine months off work to support his daughter’s treatment, including supervising all school meals during that time. He is proud to say his daughter has recovered and is now studying counselling. Rodney wants other dads and male carers to know that they have a place in the treatment team and recovery.
In this session, Rodney will share his experience of eating disorder treatment, including navigating refeeding, and how he looked after his own mental health and marriage.
Rod Bailey, 63, has been married to Kathy for 28 years, and together they have three children, Jack (26), Dylan (23), and Brianna (18). They have lived on the Mid North Coast of NSW for 18 years. Brianna was diagnosed with anorexia about three and a half years ago, which came as a massive shock to the family. They didn’t understand how insidious the illness could be or the impact it would have on them all. It has been a draining experience, but with great help from counsellors and psychologists at their local CAMHS, the family has managed to reach the other side and begin managing recovery. Rodney looks forward to sharing their story and hopes to instil a sense of hope in other carers who are navigating this illness.
As a clinical psychologist, Linda felt she ‘should’ have known better, but the eating disorder fooled her. Her daughter struggled to find a psychologist with the right ‘fit’ and was instead supported by a dietitian, recovery coach, GP, and EDFA programs. She is now doing well and on a three-month student exchange in Germany. While not fully recovered and still experiencing some body image and eating challenges, she is well enough to be out in the world, living her best life.
Linda lives in the Perth Hills with her husband, two children, and a labrador. She specialises in supporting people with trauma, particularly within the veteran community. She enjoys running, yoga, travel, growing veggies, and learning French.
Please note this session is open for both EDFA members and non-members.
Attendance at our Information sessions should not be used for professional or financial gain. We ask that you do not promote your own services in the chat or Q&A. Thank you for your cooperation.
Thank you to our Information Session presenters who have generously shared their knowledge and time to benefit the EDFA community. You can access the list of past presenters here.
If you are interested in reaching out for further information or to enquire about our Information Sessions, you can contact Alex Kisilevich, National EDucation Program Manager, at alex.kisilevich@edfa.org.au.