Shaping the Conversation Around Eating Disorders

with Alexa Wilmarth, PMHNP-BC

Shaping the Conversation Around Eating Disorders

Episode 23, Season 2 | March 9, 2022

Show Notes

Data shows that calls to the helpline for the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) increased 40% in the first year of the pandemic. Sometimes symptoms might fly under the radar or be dismissed as ‘just a phase,’ but the shame, guilt and health complications associated with eating disorders are risks we can’t ignore. On today’s podcast episode, we sit down with CHC’s own Alexa Wilmarth, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, who has worked with adolescents with eating disorders in both outpatient and residential treatment settings. Listen today as Alexa shares warning signs, insights, co-occurring mental health disorders and advice for parents on this timely topic.

Guest Info
Alexa Wilmarth headshot

Alexa is a Bay Area native from Belmont, CA. She is a Columbia and UCSF trained board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) who provides comprehensive psychiatric evaluation and medication management for children and adolescents in the community. She values thorough, evidence-based and compassionate patient-centered care. She is a strong advocate for health and wellness in her patients and emphasizes the role that sleep, nutrition, exercise and socialization have on how her patients feel.

 

Before pursuing advanced practice nursing, Alexa worked for several years in the adolescent residential eating disorder treatment setting and then worked as an RN in Edgewood’s youth crisis stabilization center in San Francisco as well as in the school setting. She received her NP training working with both children and adults in a variety of outpatient, crisis, residential, urgent care, jail and community settings until completing her final residency in outpatient psychiatry at Palo Alto Medical Foundation in Mountain View.

 

During her spare time, Alexa enjoys spending time with her family, friends and her husband. Alexa loves skiing, travel, running, reading and discovering local food gems on the Peninsula. As a creative outlet on the weekends, she makes floral centerpieces for her friends’ weddings and showers. Alexa has also begun writing for CHC’s blog. Alexa loves working with kids and continues to be so grateful to call CHC home!

Resources

Learn more about CHC’s Clinical Services 

Learn more about Evaluations

Recommended Reading:

How The Pandemic Is Fueling Eating Disorders In Young People

Eating Disorders on the Rise After Our Pandemic Year > News > Yale Medicine

Eating Disorders Thrive In Anxious Times, And Pose A Lethal Threat

Trends in US Patients Receiving Care for Eating Disorders and Other Common Behavioral Health Conditions Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic | Psychiatry and Behavioral Health | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

The hidden burden of eating disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic – The Lancet Psychiatry

Why Parents Shouldn’t Use Food as Reward or Punishment – Health Encyclopedia – University of Rochester Medical Center

Center for Discovery

Book Recommendations:

Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole

Life Without Ed by Jenni Schaefer

Sick Enough by Jennifer Gaudiani

From CHC’s Resource Library:

Eating Disorders: Types, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

What You Need to Know About Eating Disorders

COVID-19 and Disordered Eating: How the Pandemic Has Impacted Eating Habits

More Teens with Eating Disorders Wound up in ER During Pandemic

Pandemic Fueling a Sharp Rise in Eating Disorders, Bay Area Experts Say

For Many, Eating Disorders Are Made Worse by the Pandemic

Eating Disorders Thrive In Anxious Times, And Pose A Lethal Threat

How The Pandemic Is Fueling Eating Disorders In Young People

Why Are People with Autism at Such High Risk of Developing Eating Disorders?

Why Parents Shouldn’t Use Food as Reward or Punishment

Books:

CHC Recommends — Books About Eating Disorders

Website: