A Three-Pronged Team Approach When Caring for People with Eating Disorders
Hayley Satrom
As a biblical counselor, I meet with many people whose lives, hearts, and minds are controlled by an obsession with food. Whether anorexia, bulimia, or binge-eating, disordered eating patterns are very common among my counselees, and I’ve found that often they need professional assistance beyond what I alone can provide.
Now, hear me out. I believe there are many counseling issues we biblical counselors can face without additional help from other trained medical professionals. That said, eating disorders, in my opinion, are simply not of that category. After working with many anorexic and bulimic individuals, I have come to respect, and indeed mandate, a team approach to their care.
A Three-Pronged Approach
It was actually my supervisor, Deepak Reju, who was the first to suggest I utilize what he called a “three-pronged approach” in caring for counselees with eating disorders. “What are these three prongs?” you ask. They are:
Biblical counselor,
Medical physician, and
Nutritionist.
I now live by these three prongs when I counsel folks with eating disorders. The additional support has served me well as a counselor, and more importantly has served my counselees.