Families are the Solution, not the Problem By Diana Norton, MEd., CCC


Families can experience guilt and shame for the destructive course of an eating disorder. We too easily imply that they are somehow the cause or should do something more to fix things. We are bound to have rough days, but it has been my experience that family members do their best to love and support one other. As a counsellor working in the field of eating disorder prevention and recovery I am often reminded of the resourcefulness, resilience, and devotion of families as they support their loved ones.

I recently facilitated my seventh session with the “Support Group for Family and Friends Supporting a Loved One with an Eating Disorder” at Hopewell, and I continue to be filled with admiration for how these family members care and provide for their loved ones. Their patience, understanding, and resourcefulness are remarkable. As a group we came together to trouble shoot, resource share, skill build, grieve, and celebrate. Successes were sometimes small but progress was evident. An eating disorder does not happen overnight, nor is it solved in a day. There is no single cause for an eating disorder, families are not it. Families are not the problem, they are the solution.

Diana Norton, MEd., CCC, is the facilitator of Hopewell’s “Family & Friends Support Group”.  She can be reached at diana@diananorton.com, or at 613-853-7802. 

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