BridgePoint clinic struggles to meet demands.

Province’s sole clinic has long waiting list

The province’s only eating disorder treatment centre is struggling to keep pace with the growing demand for its services.

The BridgePoint Center for Eating Disorders treats more than 100 adults and youth annually in Milden, about 20 kilometres west of Outlook.

However, Charlene Campbell, the centre’s executive director, expects the number of people seeking help for eating disorders will be closer to 125 this year.

“We really wish we had more funding so we could expand our programming to meet the needs of all the people who need our services,” she said.

The provincially funded centre opened in 1997 and serves people with a variety of disorders including binge eating, anorexia, compulsive eating and morbid obesity.

“We deal with the whole spectrum,” said Helen Uhrich, a program facilitator.

The centre’s philosophy is that eating disorders are a way of coping with stress and anxiety. The 18 staff members on the multi-disciplinary team include social workers, two psychologists, a psychologist intern, dietitians, LPNs and continuing care assistants. Their goal is to help participants discover what stresses them and find alternate ways to cope.

There is no cost for Saskatchewan residents to attend BridgePoint, but prior to attending a person must be declared medically stable by a doctor.

Also, before people can enrol in intensive programming, they must attend a weekend retreat, which is an introduction to BridgePoint programs.

Campbell noted there are often waiting lists for the 10 retreats held throughout the year.

A variety of treatments are used throughout the three-week program, including cognitive therapy groups.

“Treatment allows participants to access their feelings,” Uhrich said. “With an eating disorder, they’re shut down ... We do a lot of processing, so they share a lot of themselves and learn a lot from each other.”

Eating disorders are complex, Campbell said.

“People who are alcoholics need to stay away from bars and liquor stores, people who are stopping smoking need to not buy cigarettes, but we all need to eat,” she said. “People need to learn new behaviours because you need food everyday.”

Aside from programming, the centre offers phone support to those with eating disorders.

A program facilitator can be reached by calling the centre at 1-306-935-2240 on Mondays and Fridays between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and until 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

“Anyone is welcome to call,” Campbell said. “It can be a family member who is concerned about their loved one or somebody just wondering, ‘Do I have an eating disorder?’ ”