Treating men with eating disorders at Orri 

In Orri’s eating disorder service, we treat every person who comes through our door or checks into our online programme – male, female, any gender – with respect for their individual journey and unique story. All are welcome, however they may show up. 

“Psychotherapy and group psychotherapy at Orri involves witnessing and hearing the unheard, the silenced.” 

Andrew Seed, Specialist Eating Disorder Psychotherapist 

This is why, here at Orri, we know that our clients are more than their eating disorder – they are people with their own identities and life experiences. We don’t just focus on the physical manifestation of the eating disorder, instead, seek to understand the root of the problem, exploring how and why it has evolved and tacking the issues that continue to reinforce it.  

Our goal is to give male clients, as with all clients, the best possible treatment. We work holistically following a stepped approach to treatment, so that every client’s programme is appropriate to their individual needs and evolves with them over time. For, everyone’s recovery looks different, so our programmes recognise and reflect that. 

In sessions, we address issues such as gender norms and masculinity, over-exercising and muscularity, as well as relationships and sexuality. We are proud to hold spaces (online and in person) to have important, and often difficult, discussions to challenge the outdated narratives and attitudes surrounding eating disorders and gender. 

Psychotherapy and group psychotherapy at Orri involves witnessing and hearing the unheard, the silenced. This can help to release bottled up emotions that have not been allowed to reach the world. Men who have been socialised into feeling that it is not okay to reach out and express these feelings, perceived as “weak”, can benefit from being heard by professionals and other clients, male and female, to support changing perspectives of self.  

This is why men need to talk. At Orri, we are here to listen. Find out more about our treatment to eating disorders, here. 

We need to eradicate the social stigma associated with mental illness and eating disorders for everyone, and we urgently need to eradicate the social stigma for men, because their access to care is seriously compromised as a result. This is where you come in. You can join in our campaign this week and Remember your BROS.

Find out more about Orri’s campaign for Eating Disorders Awareness Week 2023, here: https://www.orri-uk.com/eating-disorders-awareness-week/  

Takeaways to hold:

You can change the rhetoric that eating disorders are female mental illnesses. 

You can make a difference for future boys and men who develop eating disorders, so they can receive early intervention. 

You are deserving of support – you are worthy to be heard.  

“We all have issues in our personal life, it doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman. Asking for help is a courageous step to helping yourself, and that is the most important thing. You should not be ashamed of asking for help if you are a man; there is no judgement.  

Think about yourself and your recovery – nothing else…” Alumni male client 

As always, remember your #BROS. 

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