CONSUMER
On-line support group marks anniversary
19-07-2004
by Craig Liddell
Bodywhys, an Irish charity which offers help for people with eating disorders, is celebrating the one year anniversary of its on-line chat room.
The anniversary comes as a new research study reveals the on-line medium is particularly useful for those people affected by eating disorders.
Bodwyhys is a national voluntary organisation offering offline and on-line information and support for people affected by the disease, in the Republic of Ireland as well as the North. The target group tends to be young, Internet savvy people.
"There is also a huge secrecy associated with having an eating disorder," says Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jennie O'Reilly, "so we found we could connect with people through the Internet."
A Bodywhys-sponsored research and evaluation of the service backs up the claim. Alison Darcy, who undertook the research for a Masters of Literature, says the results "seem to suggest that not only are Internet support groups being used by the very people that need them most, but the users' severity of symptoms may be related to their choice for going on-line."
As one example, the report stated that people with bulimia who have particularly low self-esteem may prefer a faceless, anonymous medium. The study was carried out by Darcy, who is currently Bodywhys Web editor, in the Department of Psychology at University College Dublin. The research explored the service in terms of the users' experience.
Survey participants were 138 forum users, 92 percent of whom were female and 8 percent male. Interestingly, a large majority (60 percent) were from rural areas.
The on-line support forum, called Bodywhys Connect, is a place where registered users can come together at an agreed weekly time with two trained facilitators. One to six users normally attend each session.
Funded by the Department of Health, Bodywhys was founded in 1995 by volunteers. In addition to its off-line support groups and telephone helpline, about a year ago the team developed the idea of using the on-line medium to support people with eating disorders.
In May 2004, the organisation entered a new phase with the development of a two-year strategic plan and the appointment of several new staff members, including Jenny O'Reilly as the first chief executive officer.
Having worked for voluntary support group, The Wheel, for three years, O'Reilly said she saw the opportunity to further her interest in community development.
"There continues to be a demand for support in the area of eating disorders," O'Reilly said. To that end, Bodywhys will continue development of the off-line support groups while fine tuning the on-line forum.
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