Eating disorders, recovery, and spiritual practice

A unique roundtable discussion focussing on the benefits of spiritual practices in the recovery from eating disorders was launched at South East Technological University (SETU) by Mary Butler TD, Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People.

SETU, in collaboration with the Spirituality Institute for Research and Education (SpIRE) in Dublin, convened the roundtable discussion at SETU’s Cork Road Campus in Waterford on Monday, 26 February.
The pioneering event on the topic of “Exploring the challenge of eating disorder recovery through spiritual practices” marked the opening of National Eating Disorders Week.

Organised by Dr Bernadette Flanagan and Dr Michael O’Sullivan of SpIRE, the event brought together spirituality researchers, prominent experts, healthcare professionals, and stakeholders within the field of eating disorder recovery to deliberate on the critical role that spiritual practices can play in the recovery process.

Andrea Hayes, an experienced Irish broadcaster, author, and a graduate of the MA in Applied Spirituality of SETU, acted as host for the day. Meanwhile, Professor Deborah Lycett of University of Coventry, a leading global expert in the field of spirituality and eating disorder recovery, delivered the keynote address, presenting her research findings on the subject.

PhD candidate Tara Travers, a graduate of the MA in Applied Spirituality of SETU at SpIRE, outlined her groundbreaking research exploring the role of spiritual practices as an avenue toward eating disorder recovery.

She said that as the research into the role of spirituality in eating disorder recovery is still underway, it would be premature to discuss concrete findings. However, she noted that several professional insights have already begun to emerge, highlighting the significance of spiritual practice in both the prevention and healing processes of eating disorders.

She went on to detail them beginning with the fact that in 1947 the WHO defined health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not only absence of disease’. “Recently however, ‘spiritual health’ has been acknowledged as a critical 4th dimension of human health which my research suggests may be important for some in recovery from eating disorders. Spirituality is concerned with
personal meaning and purpose, hope, and trust, which simultaneously contains and transcends
the physical, social, and mental health aspects of eating disorders. Inclusion of spiritual practice into recovery programmes may support the medical and psychological model in offering holistic health care, emphasising the interconnectedness of mental, physical, and spiritual recovery.” she told those gathered.

Tara also asserted that spiritual practice, when approached as praxis, offers substantial support to individuals in recovery from eating disorders. “This approach not only aids the recovery process but also has the capacity to profoundly influences the individual’s life world.”

She said that some participants suggested that they would not alter their experiences, as the spiritual gifts received hold greater value than the adverse impacts of the eating disorder. “People with eating disorders often feel disconnected from themselves, their bodies, others, and their conception of higher power or God. Spiritual practice can give a sense of connection and purpose in life. Such connection offers a truer/deeper and more stable sense of identity that is not based on appearance or perfectionism,” she explained.

Unconditional love can also play a role in recovery as the belief in a supportive or loving God or community can inspire hope and motivation to recover, she noted, adding, “I would like to give the final words to a participant who described her breakthrough moment on an Ignatian spirituality retreat: ‘the breakthrough then was realising that I was loved unconditionally and that really just set me free. When I left the retreat, I was a completely different person.’”

Opening the round table discussion, Minister of State, Mary Butler said: “As Minister, while I am delighted with the development and progress of the National Clinical Programme on Eating Disorders, it is still important to remain open-minded regarding the value of other possible nonclinical options to assist with eating disorder recovery, and today’s event was a hugely valuable contribution in this regard, through the presentations by Prof. Lycett and Tara Travers. I thank Dr Flanagan and Dr O’Sullivan for the work their team is doing on this.”

Minister Butler also shared her delight at being the Irish Government Minister who will be visiting the Vatican and meeting Pope Francis on St Patrick’s Day »

Commenting on the objectives of the event, Dr Flanagan said, “Both SETU and the Spirituality Institute are committed to the pursuit of ground-breaking research and innovative solutions to improve eating disorder services in Ireland. The round table discussion marked a significant step forward in this endeavour. The event provided a unique platform for professionals to share knowledge, gain valuable insights from each other and leading experts, and explore innovative approaches to addressing eating disorders.”

Dr Michael O’Sullivan of SpIRE outlined how as a registered charitable trust the event was fully aligned with SpIRE’s mission to promote spirituality through education, research, and community service for public benefit.

“SpIRE collaborates with SETU to deliver the SETU MA in Applied Spirituality and to support SETU PhD students in spirituality in Dublin. SpIRE hosts the leading library for applied spirituality studies and supports the SETU Research Unit on Spirituality in Society and the Professions (SpirSoP). Additionally, it has organised or co-organised three international conferences at SETU on spirituality studies and research. We were delighted to fund this roundtable discussion,” said Dr O’Sullivan.

Photo: (by Patrick Browne): Front L-R: Dr Michael O’Sullivan, SJ; Tara Travers, PhD Cand and MA in Applied Spirituality graduate; Mary Butler, Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People; Dr Bernadette Flanagan, PBVM.
Back L-R: Dr E. McCrory, Dr N. Keating, Dr N. Molina, Diane Jackson, PhD Cand and MA in Applied Spirituality graduate, Dr P. Hurley, and Dr P. Clogher – Colleagues from SpIRE-SETU