Caring for Daughters with Eating Disorders: A Parents Perspective with Veronica Kamerling
The Full of Beans PodcastShow Notes
This week on the Full of Beans podcast, Han is joined by Veronica Kamerling. Veronica, has over 24 years' experience supporting carers, drawing on her own lived experience of caring for two daughters with eating disorders and a brother with schizophrenia. She runs her own organisation, Eating Disorders & Carers, has worked alongside the NHS for over two decades, and has been recognised with the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Carer Contributor of the Year Award and an Eating Disorders National Award from Beat. At the heart of Veronica's work is a simple belief: carers should be heard, valued and recognised for the vital contribution they make. In this episode, we explore: Veronica's experience caring for two daughters , both with different eating disorders a What it was like navigating eating disorder services and support three decades ago Why an eating disorder can be serious even when someone "looks well" The isolation and lack of understanding Veronica faced from friends and wider support How co-dependency developed in Veronica's caregiving, and the changes she made to Letting go of blame and guilt as a parent and the power of 'teamwork' The "triangle of care" and why carers need their own role, training and support Using a family genogram to understand generational patterns, and how it helped rebuild Veronica's relationship with her daughter Connect with Us: Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast Follow Full of Beans on Instagram Check out our website Listen on YouTube Connect with Veronica on LinkedIn Learn more about Veronica's work via her website here ⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, and other mental health conditions. Please take care while listening. Thank you to @Nightingale Hospital for sponsoring the podcast.
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In this week's episode of Full of Beans, Han is joined by Tiffany Luxford. Tiffany is a 24-year-old psychology student at King's College London and an expert by experience, whose own journey with anorexia in her late teens now sits at the centre of both her professional focus and personal work. She contributes to co-production research and shares her story in the training of current and future clinicians, helping ensure the voices of people with lived experience remain central to how eating disorder care is shaped. Tiffany also works with services across the UK to help design more compassionate and accessible treatment pathways, and is soon launching The Recovery Wave, a website of resources for anyone navigating recovery, particularly those without access to care or who haven't yet found support that fits their needs. In this week's episode, we discuss: The bullying and social pressure that triggered Tiffany's eating disorder The impact of unsuccessful A&E trips and delayed eating disorder interventions Falling between adult and child eating disorder services during COVID Being discharged from eating disorder treatment at 18 due to age, not readiness Gaps in eating disorder treatment caused by multiple diagnoses, including OCD Why connection in eating disorder treatment supports and hinders recovery Why university became the turning point in Tiffany's eating disorder recovery Debunking the myth that eating disorder thoughts "never go away" Tiffany's lived-experience resource for eating disorder recovery, Recovery Wave ⚠️ Content note: this episode discusses eating disorders, inpatient treatment, and mental health diagnoses including OCD and personality disorder. Please take care while listening. Connect with us: Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast Follow Full of Beans on Instagram Check out our website Listen on YouTube Connect with Tiffany via LinkedIn or check out her Tedx Talk
This week on the Full of Beans podcast, Han is joined by Dr Sam Chawner, a senior research fellow at Cardiff University. Sam's research explores the complex links between eating disorders, genetics, neurodiversity and mental health, with a focus on groups who have historically been overlooked in research and clinical practice. His work looks at ARFID (avoidant restrictive food intake disorder) , and he is involved in the NHS Wales ARFID Steering Group and the EDGI (Eating Disorder Genetics Initiative) study, working alongside Beat, and those with lived experience to shape the future of ARFID research and care. In this episode, we explore: The links between eating disorders, genetics and neurodiversity Why ARFID is still so misunderstood The different types of ARFID, including the four subtypes The overlap between ARFID and neurodivergence What the first ARFID twin study found The gaps in ARFID treatment research The EDGI study, and how families can take part Connect with Us: Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast Follow Full of Beans on Instagram Check out our website Listen on YouTube Connect with Sam on LinkedIn Find out more about ARFID here Find out more about EDGI study here ⚠️ Content Note: This episode includes discussion of eating disorders, ARFID, restrictive eating, and fears around choking and vomiting. Please take care while listening. Thank you to @Nightingale Hospital for sponsoring the podcast.
This week on the Full of Beans podcast, Han is joined by Shikha Chopra, a lived experience advocate living with ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder) who is currently navigating pregnancy. Shikha is also autistic and is a member of the ARFID Connect lived experience advisory group, led by Cardiff University. Her advocacy work stems from her own struggle accessing ARFID support through the NHS and her local eating disorder clinic, as well as her experience with recovery and prevention language that didn't fit how she lives with ARFID. In this episode, we discuss: How a traumatic episode of sickness became a turning point in Shikha's ARFID What it felt like for Shikha to finally have a name for her struggles How Shikha's GP supported her through her ARFID diagnosis Gaps in NHS eating disorder treatment for adults with ARFID How peer support groups helped Shikha find validation for her ARFID experience Why "acceptance" fit Shikha's ARFID better than "recovery" The link between ARFID, autism and OCD Navigating ARFID and autism through pregnancy Advocating for her needs during maternity care with an autism health passport Shikha's advice for accessing support for ARFID ⚠️ Content note: this episode discusses ARFID, disordered eating, trauma, and pregnancy. Please take care while listening. Connect with us: Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast Follow Full of Beans on Instagram Check out our website Listen on YouTube Find out more about ARFID Connect here Check out Beat ARFID Page here Check out First Steps info on ARFID here
This week on the Full of Beans podcast, Han is joined by Ella Clarke, a lived experience advocate currently working for LENs as an Expert by Experience. Ella has her own lived experience of an eating disorder and ADHD, and spent three years in hospital under a section. She now uses that experience to spread awareness and give others hope that recovery is genuinely possible. Outside of her advocacy work, Ella volunteers at Redgate Farm animal sanctuary, is proud crazy cat lady to Bella, a 14-year-old cat she adopted from Redgate last year, and this year travelled to Borneo to volunteer at a sanctuary for orangutans and sun bears. In this episode, we discuss: What motivates Ella to work as an Expert by Experience in eating disorder recovery Ella's experience of hospital admission and treatment for an eating disorder Why listening to the person, not just the diagnosis, matters in eating disorder treatment Ella's experience of misdiagnosis and falling through the gaps between mental health services How Ella's ADHD diagnosis became a turning point in her eating disorder recovery The overlap between ADHD, anorexia and binge eating disorder The small, incremental steps that helped Ella rebuild her relationship with food Why normalising food, rather than commenting on it, supports eating disorder recovery Reconnecting with hobbies, identity and life beyond the eating disorder, including Ella's trip to Borneo ⚠️ Content note: this episode discusses eating disorders, hospital admission, self-harm, and mental health diagnoses including ADHD and personality disorder. Please take care while listening. Connect with us: Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast Follow Full of Beans on Instagram Check out our website Listen on YouTube Connect with Ella via LinkedIn
This week on the Full of Beans podcast, Han is joined by Shannon Travers-Spencer, who has lived experience of anorexia, autism, ADHD, ARFID and chronic illness, and shares their journey online. Shannon is a passionate advocate for inclusive care for neurodivergent individuals within eating disorder services, and spoke at this year's Dump The Scales march about navigating the UK's eating disorder system, and the barriers and accommodations they faced along the way. In This Episode: Shannon's experience of ARFID from childhood, and anorexia developing later as a teenager Untangling autism, ARFID and anorexia when they overlap so closely Why an autism diagnosis partway through inpatient treatment changed everything about Shannon's care The nuance clinicians face in adapting treatment without it being exploited by the eating disorder How Shannon and a dietitian mapped out "autism-safe" versus "anorexia-safe" foods to understand what was really driving their eating How undiagnosed autism may have contributed to the development of Shannon's eating disorder Practical, simple adjustments that can make a significant difference in autistic-affirming care Why listening to the patient, and being willing to adapt language and approach, matters more than any grand overhaul The importance of joined-up care between eating disorder services and mental health teams ⚠️ Content note: this episode discusses eating disorders, ARFID, autism, suicidality, and inpatient psychiatric treatment. Please take care while listening. Connect with us: Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast Follow Full of Beans on Instagram Check out our website Listen on YouTube Connect with Shannon via Instagram @a.froggy.life Watch Shannon's Dump The Scales speech here Check out the Peace Pathway here