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Ideas for how to help / interact with a student with anorexia?

Asked by zina (1661points) October 20th, 2008

One of my students (college-age) recently told me s/he’s dealing with anorexia. I am fairly familiar with this, having had friends and other loved ones deal with it (and generally being in a very psychology-, and feminist/body-oriented- community), though I struggle to relate personally.

I want to get input and ideas from others regarding this situation, and I’m wondering if people in the collective have specific ideas for things to say/do, things to NOT say/do, etc – specifically with the relationship in mind of teacher/student. Any relevant experiences out there related to conversations (content, tone), confidentiality (supervisors, etc), assignments and grading, classroom dynamics, common mistakes/bloopers/pitfalls, and so on? Any creative ideas for ways I can help, be a positive influence, maybe something totally unexpected and fun and awesome… while maintaining professional boundaries? Something someone did for you?

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