NJ Family Wins Major Battle For Those With Eating Disorders







Three years ago, thirteen year old Marisa Meiskin wore baggy clothes to hide her thinning body. What started out as calorie counting and label watching, soon progressed to weighing herself several times a day and throwing her food away. Her parents, finding themselves searching through the family garbage to be sure Marisa was eating, knew they were dealing with a much bigger problem.

Marisa was diagnosed with Anorexia and was treated in a nearby hospital. After several visits her parents realized that with each return home their daughter would quickly lose the weight she had gained while being treated there. Jaundiced and her heart rate dangerous low, they then sent her to a specialized hospital in Utah. When their insurance carrier, Aetna, would not cover the tens of thousands of dollars the facility cost a month they were forced to take out a second mortgage on their home. They filed suit against their insurance carrier. “We had no choice,” Jeff Meiskin, Marisa’s father, said. “If we had not brought her to the Utah facility, we don’t know where she'd be. She may not be here.”

"All carriers that do business in New Jersey had taken a uniform position that all eating disorders were not biologically based and based on that misassumption, they were limiting coverage across the board,”
said the Meiskin's lawyer, Bruce Nagel. Aetna has now agreed to pay for eating disorder treatment claims that were denied during the past 7 years, settling the class-action lawsuit. This means that the Meiskins and all 100 families listed in the suit will get reimbursed and other full coverage Aetna members will also be eligible.

Marisa, now 16, is speaking out about anorexia. She wants others to understand that it is not about vanity but a debilitating disorder rooted in control.



sources:www.wnbc.com/news/16518815/detail.html?rss=ny&psp=news
http://www.wnbc.com/news/16518832/detail.html
picture source:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/safari_vacation/6260723020/

The Use Of Art Therapy In The Treatment Of Eating Disorders


What is Art Therapy?
Wikipidia
In part, art therapy, according to the American Art Therapy Association, "is based on the belief that the creative process of art is both healing and life-enhancing. Art therapists use the creative process and the issues that come up during art therapy to help their clients increase insight and judgment, cope better with stress, work through traumatic experiences, increase cognitive abilities, have better relationships with family and friends, and to just be able to enjoy the life-affirming pleasures of the creative experience. The term art therapist is reserved for those that are professionals trained in both art and therapy and hold a master's degree in art therapy or a related field. offered in BS and BA degrees."

Typically included in the Art Therapy assessments are a series of instructed tasks which are later analyzed to gain further insight about the artist.

Types of Art Therapy Include:

  • Drawing
  • Creating mosaics
  • Painting
  • Clay making
  • Sculpting"

Benefits Of Art Therapy

"The benefits of art therapy in aiding psychological trauma treatment are many. Art therapy helps reconcile emotional or life conflicts, release deeply repressed emotions and process through traumatic experiences, mental issues, anxiety, depression, and stress. The therapy can also enhance cognitive abilities, increase self-esteem, promote reality oreientation, and foster self-awareness."

THIN art therapy session by: april 1819





Another example of art therapy and eating disorders:
Art Therapy: ED Sucks by banaphone2006


*Has art therapy helped you better understand your eating disorder? Has it helped with your recovery? Please feel free to leave a comment and share your experience with art therapy.



sources:
http://www.art-therapy.us/art_therapy.htm
youtube.com
wikipedia.com
http://www.casapalmera.com/articles/art-therapy/
picture source: MrsMenopausal