A new program has been established at Rambam Health Care Campus, providing a new framework for young people struggling with eating disorders in Northern Israel.
Staff from the Daily Eating Disorder Treatment Service at Rambam. Photo Credit: Pioter Fliter
The Division of Psychiatry at Rambam Health Care Campus recently established a unique service for residents of Haifa and the surrounding areas – a framework for daily treatment of eating disorders. The service was established for young people –boys and girls –suffering from eating disorders, as well as individuals up to the age of 30. This new service will be provided alongside the Eating Disorder Clinic, which has been operating at Rambam for years, and will offer solutions to those suffering from more complex manifestations of a wide range of eating disorders. With the introduction of this new service, Rambam becomes the only place offering a treatment framework like this between Safed and Tel Aviv.
The clinic and the new service are managed by Noa Tziperman, a clinical psychologist with extensive experience in the field, alongside a skilled, multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, and clinical dieticians – all of whom have a great deal of experience. “This is an intensive treatment plan, intended for sufferers of various eating disorders who need assistance that goes beyond what’s offered in the clinic setting, and can avoid hospitalization,” explains Tziperman. “The treatment includes dealing with different facets of the disease and is personalized for each patient. It encompasses a full range of multidisciplinary attention to the emotional, psychological personal, environmental, behavioral, rehabilitation and normalization of eating, medical follow-up, group therapy, drug therapy, and other aspects of their condition. This approach has been found to be very effective, and we’re happy to offer this important service to the citizens of Haifa and the region.”
As a daily treatment program that can extend over a period of several months, the young patients are also accompanied by an educational team that helps them keep up with their studies.
According to Dr. Ofer Shamgar, Director of the Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic at Rambam that operates the service, this program is good news for the people of Haifa and its environs. “During the last few decades, eating disorders have become a widespread problem that affects many. To date, individuals requiring more comprehensive treatment who lived in the area were forced to travel to distant programs or enroll in programs that were less suitable for their situations. By offering this new service at Rambam, there’s a new address for those who need our help, and we can draw on our extensive experience for their benefit.”