Dr. Tom Britton of The Emily Program On How To Support A Loved One Who Is Struggling With An Eating Disorder
…Fundamentally, the most important thing that you can do to support a loved one with an eating disorder is to be available when you are needed — whenever and wherever that is. There will be times to celebrate together as well as challenges to experience together, but your continued support is essential to remind them that they are not alone…
Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions that affect millions worldwide, transcending age, gender, and cultural boundaries. They are not simply about food but involve a range of psychological, physical, and social issues. Supporting a loved one through this struggle can be challenging, requiring understanding, patience, and knowledge of the right approaches to truly make a difference.
In this series, we aim to shed light on the most effective ways to offer support, understanding, and hope to those battling an eating disorder. We are talking to psychologists, nutritionists, doctors, therapists, and survivors, who can provide valuable perspectives on nurturing recovery, fostering resilience, and promoting healthy relationships with food and body image. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Tom Britton, the Chief Executive Officer of Accanto Health, the parent company of The Emily Program and Gather Behavioral Health.
Tom’s involvement in the behavioral health field spans more than 30 years, and his extensive clinical and leadership work history provides the foundation to lead Accanto Health with an unwavering commitment to the company’s mission of delivering exceptional individualized and collaborative care for the whole journey so individuals and families can thrive.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive into our discussion, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share with us the backstory about what brought you to your specific career path?
I was very fortunate to come from a family that valued service to others, social justice and acts of compassion and care. It was these values that first focused my interest in joining the workforce as a helping professional. My first job in the field was in 1990 as a job coach to people with special needs and it showed the incredible role that we can play in the lives of others as they seek to find purpose and an improved quality of life. I had the great fortune of spending the next chapter of my career as a clinician working with adults and adolescents living with mental health and substance use disorders. I earned Master’s Degrees in Marriage and Family Therapy as well as one in Addiction Counseling. As my clinical experience grew, I was given the opportunity to be a clinical supervisor and program director. It was over 20 years ago that I led my first organization as the Executive Director of a 42-bed substance disorder treatment center treating adults and adolescents. As the years went by, the size and scope of organizations I led grew and I chose to pursue and complete a Doctorate in Public Health with the focus of executive leadership and strategy. I have since blended my clinical and leadership training to drive innovation, excellence, growth, outcomes and strong patient and staff engagement.
It wasn’t until I led the eating disorder division of CRC Healthcare in 2012 that I truly understood how pervasive and complex eating disorders are and the threat they pose to the health and well-being of persons living with the disease. I developed a deep appreciation and respect for the dedication, passion, and comprehensive training of the workforce I supported. As a person in long term recovery from substance use, I know the level of work and determination it takes to create a life of balance, peace, happiness and freedom. I also know the gift that the clinical team that treated me gave and I have been working to pay it forward ever since.
One of the things that drew me to Accanto was our shared vision of making eating disorders a more common conversation in households. There is a huge disparity between individuals who need help for an eating disorder versus those who seek help. A core thread of the Emily Program mission is work to reduce the stigma of eating disorders and eating disorder treatment while removing barriers to entry for treatment. We aim to educate people about what treatment entails, what to expect from treatment, what to look for in a good treatment provider, and eliminate any associated fear and shame. We also aim to educate the insurance industry on the importance of treatment. We can work with them to achieve measurable outcomes for our patients and maintain a high standard of excellence. The second piece of our mission is to provide lifesaving treatment to those in need. We are in a constant process of expanding our own treatment services while improving the quality of care and ease of access to treatment.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite “Life Lesson Quote” is “It’s easier to change my perception of life than to change life itself.” Our patients frequently battle an internal voice that downplays the significance and threat that their eating disorder present. Their efforts to minimize symptoms can have a significant impact on their willingness to seek and accept treatment. The quote can act as a catalyst for the acceptance that leads to treatment and ultimately, recovery from an eating disorder. There is a transformative power of a positive mindset and perspective when following a specialized eating disorder treatment program that makes a significant difference. Reframing harmful thought patterns to a more balanced and compassionate view, reclaiming self-acceptance and control, and altering reactions to life’s challenges all underscore the idea that recovery starts not by trying to control the external world, but by reshaping how one views and interacts with it.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
We are always developing and working on projects that move the needle in terms of the care we offer and getting more care to more people. We are focused on building more access to care to reduce suffering and increase hope, increasing measurement and communication of our outcomes of those we serve, and making our electronic infrastructure easier to use for our staff. Expanding Gather Behavioral Health, our virtual outpatient program, into more states will allow more people to conveniently access care for mental health concerns, supporting them to flourish in their lives. We are working on an expanded outcomes data collection to better understand how we improve our programs and how we best support patients during treatment and after they leave The Emily Program. Along with this data collection, we are replacing our electronic health record system. In addition to streamlining the experience of the staff, this system will have a strong quality outcome component and patients will have the ability to use applications on their mobile phone so that they can enter information into the system from home. This in real time data collection will add to our outcomes understanding and in turn, our ability to communicate the ways we can help support recovery for clients and families. Finally, we are actively building specialized treatment tracks to treat individuals with eating disorders that struggle with comorbid conditions like substance use, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
According to this study cited by the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, at least 30 million people in the U.S. of all ages and genders suffer from an eating disorder. Can you suggest 3–5 reasons why this has become such a critical issue recently?
There are many contributing factors to the prevalence of eating disorders today, including the impact of media trends and social media specifically. For young people in particular, social media is almost inescapable. Every time they log in, algorithms promote a level of body consciousness and comparison that can be hugely destabilizing. Part of what we offer in our care is the development of a healthy relationship with social media.
We also continue to see the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, where we saw a large spike in both the incidence of eating disorders and the severity of symptoms. The stress, isolation, and change in routine caused many people to begin experiencing eating disorder symptoms.
As a nation that has gone through trying times, there is an intensified and accelerating focus on the body. Between the pandemic, the pressure of social media, the sense of physical isolation, the false sense of connection through social media, and the rise in GLP-1s that make it “so easy,” people are under a lot of pressure and have an increased desire to change their bodies.
There has also been a heightened awareness of a newer eating disorder, Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). With the growth of ARFID, patients have been more driven to seek care. We aim to be able to provide care for patients with any eating disorder and have expanded our treatment program to treat those with ARFID.
Based on your insight, what can concrete steps can a) individuals, b) corporations, c) communities and d) leaders do to address the core issues that are leading to this problem?
We all have a collective responsibility when it comes to addressing the core issues that promote eating disorders. The most important tool that we have in this fight is education. By sharing an understanding of what the signs and symptoms of eating disorders are and the care available, we can all reduce stigma and encourage individuals to get the help they need.
If you are an organizational leader, it is essential that you make sure that your employees’ health coverage includes comprehensive eating disorder care. Access makes a huge difference in showing that these are legitimate conditions and that it is right to seek treatment for them.
Additionally, we all must be conscious of the way we talk about and view ourselves and others. Instead of speaking negatively about your own appearance, think about how you can express that idea kindly. We are all products of our environment, and by leading with positivity, you can have a huge impact on others.
As you know, one of the challenges of an eating disorder is the harmful, and dismissive sentiment of “why can’t you just control yourself”. What do you think needs to be done to make it apparent that an eating disorder is an illness just like heart disease or schizophrenia?
Eating disorders can and do affect individuals of all ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, body sizes, classes, and abilities. The stereotype that only a specific type of person can have an eating disorder limits those who need care from seeking it.
Again, the solution to this problem is education. By ensuring that people have an up-to-date and accurate understanding of what eating disorders are and how we can fight them, we can all help minimize the impact of these misperceptions.
The bottom line is that eating disorders are extremely complex, requiring experts skilled in addressing the psychiatric and physical components of the disorder.
Here is the main question of our interview. Can you please share with our readers 5 ways to support a loved one who is struggling with an eating disorder? If you can, can you share an example from your own experience?
1 . Learn about eating disorders.
Having an eating disorder can be a very isolating experience for many, it isn’t uncommon to feel like your symptoms are yours alone. If your loved one is struggling with symptoms of an eating disorder, one of the most helpful things you can do is learn more about what they are going through.
Having this understanding will also help you to recognize the signs of an eating disorder and address them appropriately.
2 . Ask your loved one what they need from you.
One of the best ways you can show support is by non-confrontationally asking your loved one what they need from you and then following through on that ask. You can show your support by demonstrating that you are not coming from a place of judgement, but fully available to stand alongside them on their recovery journey.
3 . Support your loved one in getting the care that they need.
Ultimately, the only way to address an eating disorder is through specialized care. If your loved one is expressing signs and symptoms of an eating disorder, you can offer your support by helping them understand what care is available.
By speaking to a specialist together, you will have a clearer sense of both the appropriate level of care as well as what the next steps can be. The Emily Program and Gather Behavioral Health can be the first step in finding recovery and I strongly encourage people to call and get the help they need.
4 . Have patience — recovery is a journey.
Recovery is a journey, and for many that journey includes moments of huge progress as well as periods of limited progress or even relapse. When your loved one is struggling, have patience and remember that recovery is not a straight line.
5 . Be there when you’re needed.
Fundamentally, the most important thing that you can do to support a loved one with an eating disorder is to be available when you are needed — whenever and wherever that is. There will be times to celebrate together as well as challenges to experience together, but your continued support is essential to remind them that they are not alone.
How do you navigate the balance between offering support and respecting the autonomy of a loved one with an eating disorder?
It is normal to be concerned for your loved ones when they are struggling with an eating disorder, but it is also important to demonstrate that care through support. Make sure that your loved one knows that you are non-judgmentally available to offer support as they get the care they need.
Is there a message you would like to tell someone who may be reading this, who is currently struggling with an eating disorder?
You are not alone in this, and full recovery is not only possible, but also probable with the right care. With early professional intervention, you are more likely to have a long-lasting recovery. The Emily Program is a treatment program that will work with your schedule and a team ready to support your recovery. Please reach out.
In your experience, what are the most effective strategies for building resilience and a positive self-image in individuals recovering from an eating disorder?
The most effective way to build resilience and a positive self-image for those recovering from an eating disorder is to ensure that you are receiving the right level of care. The Emily Program provides a wide variety of services tailored to meet the needs of those at every step of their recovery journey.
What are your favorite books, podcasts, or resources that have helped people with this struggle? Can you explain why you like them?
The Emily Program features a number of resources aimed at helping people understand more about eating disorders and find solidarity.
- The Emily Program Blog: This blog shares helpful information from The Emily Program and the broader eating disorder community.
- The National Alliance for Eating Disorders: Offers free virtual support groups led by licensed eating disorder clinicians. Among them are weekly pro-recovery support groups for adults affected by an eating disorder and friends & family support groups for loved ones.
- The Emily Program Friends and Family Sessions: The Emily Program offers free evening Friends and Family Sessions open to the public. No need to register. Just drop in. This group is intended for family and friends providing support to loved ones with an eating disorder.
- F.E.A.S.T: F.E.A.S.T. is an international organization of and for parents and caregivers to help loved ones recover from eating disorders by providing information and mutual support, promoting evidence-based treatment, and advocating for research and education to reduce the suffering associated with eating disorders.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the largest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
As the CEO of Accanto Health, I spend every single day ensuring we are delivering the critical support needed to significantly improve the quality of life for people with eating disorders. Simply put, our goal is to help as many people as possible make peace with food.
Living with an eating disorder is painful and can negatively influence everything in the lives of those with these disorders. Helping to put an end to people’s suffering created by eating disorders is one of the most important things I can accomplish in my lifetime. I truly believe the more successful we are in improving cultural perceptions and reducing stigma surrounding eating disorders, the more people can receive the specialized care and treatment they need to live better lives free from their disorder. The legacy, size, and credibility of The Emily Program provides us a method — and tremendous opportunity — to help people recover from eating disorders and live happier, more fulfilled lives.
How can our readers continue to follow your work online?
The Emily Program consistently updates its blog and social media profiles with various content to educate the public about eating disorders and keep followers aware of events and important statistics.
Please follow us at the following:
Website: https://emilyprogram.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheEmilyProgram
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyprogram/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-emily-program/
Thank you so much for these insights! This was so inspiring!
Dr. Tom Britton of The Emily Program On How To Support A Loved One Who Is Struggling With An Eating… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.