Coronavirus Update

During the past weeks there have been a lot of changes in our lives and we wanted to give you an update about how FREED is responding to these unprecedented times.

FREED is designed to give young people rapid access to specialised evidence-based treatment and support tailored to their needs; however, given the circumstances we find ourselves in, there will be an overall disruption affecting how we are able to provide this support. It’s really difficult to be specific about when things might return to normal, but we can expect further disruptions for at least the next three months.

Having said that, we are aware the current situation can be very difficult. Having appointments cancelled or being unable to access services may put extra pressure on you and this may have an impact on your eating difficulties as well as your overall mental health. For these reasons, we are working hard to ensure we can provide some support to you and your close others. We have put together resources with some coping strategies, that we hope you will find useful.

You can find these resources on this website as well as on our YouTube channel (FREED Service) and social media page (FREEDfromED). Additional helpful resources are the web pages provided by Beat on Covid-19 (Eating Disorders and Coronavirus).

If you need more support or your situation gets worse, please contact your GP who will continue to manage your care whilst you wait for a specialist appointment. Your GP will then update your clinical team if necessary. If you are in a mental health crisis and are worried about keeping yourself safe, you can call the Samaritans on 116 123 or, if you are under 35 years old, Papyrus on 0800 068 41 41 (Papyrus Uk). You can also make an emergency appointment with your GP.