Orygen Eating Disorders Service

Organisation / Service

Orygen Youth Health

The Eating Disorders Service works with young people experiencing eating disorders including anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Treatment episodes are usually brief (six months). Young people may receive more than one episode of care, up to a maximum of two years from when they are first seen.

OYH collaborate with the RCH Eating Disorders Service to ensure all young people in the region can access appropriate care.

Service Options

• Case management which may include home visits
• Support to families and carers
• Specialised treatments, including psychological therapy and group-based treatments
• Psychosocial recovery options such as group programs, vocational and educational supports and services, youth and family participation
• Referral and liaison with other community agencies (eg. General Practitioner, employment services, school)

Treatment Goals

• Stabilise physical health in order to address mental health
• Reduce disruption to social and vocational functioning
• Promote wellbeing among family members and carers
• Support the young person during their recovery
• Develop a plan for maintaining mental health

National Strategy Standards and Actions

Treatment

Standard 1:People can access timely treatment and at the level of intensity they need, as close to home as possible (including digital options), and move between levels of treatment intensity in a seamless and supported way.

Action 1.1: Government and health and mental health service leaders to endorse eating disorders treatment as a core public health service accountability and workforce planning priority.

Action 1.2: National, state/territory, and regional planners to ensure adequate access to treatment services in every region (including rural and remote) and for each age group (children and adolescents, transition age groups (16-25), adults, and older adults).

Action 1.3: Treatment services within a local region (both public and private) to collaborate on service entry criteria to ensure a seamless system of care with coverage for all presentations.

Action 1.4: All treatment services to support people and their families/supports to transition between services and levels of treatment (step-up, step-down, and within level) through clear inter-service communication and tailored care navigation.

Action 8.1: Government and health services to ensure that all public mental health services provide eating disorder services consistent with the needs of their regions.

Treatment (community-based)

Standard 1: Community-based public mental health services (including child and adolescent/youth mental health services, adult mental health services, headspace, Head to Health, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services) provide evidence-based treatment ranging from guided self-help and brief interventions, to longer courses of treatment as clinically indicated, for binge-eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, OSFED (excluding atypical anorexia nervosa), UFED, and sub-threshold eating disorders, and provide or refer to treatment for anorexia nervosa, atypical anorexia nervosa, ARFID, pica, and rumination disorder.

Action 1.1: Government and health and mental health service leaders to endorse eating disorders as a core public health service accountability for public health services.

Action 1.2: All community-based mental health services (including child and adolescent/youth mental health services, adult mental health services, headspace, Head to Health) to ensure sufficient staff are trained and supported to provide evidence-based treatment for binge-eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, OSFED (excluding atypical anorexia nervosa), UFED, and sub-threshold eating disorders, and to provide or refer to treatment for anorexia nervosa, atypical anorexia nervosa, ARFID, pica, and rumination disorder.

Treatment (community-based intensive)

Standard 1: People can access a community-based intensive treatment option delivered close to home or virtually (e.g., day programs, intensive outpatient programs, outreach support).

Action 1.1: Commonwealth, state/territory governments and regional planners to support additional community-based intensive treatment options, due to significant gaps for step-up and
step-down treatment.