The Joint Advocates for Disordered Eating (JADE) focuses on using art as a therapeutic way to help define one’s body and self-esteem along with increasing awareness of eating disorders.
JADE hosted a workshop today in the Panorama room located at the USU, where students were made aware of the benefits of expressive art therapy as well as the symptoms of eating disorders.
Staff psychologist Rachel Friendly ran the session and taught students that when helping someone who suffers from an eating disorder, one should not simply focus on the physical symptoms.
Friendly said it is more important to focus on addressing the underlying mental factors that may be causing the disorder. Psychologists uses poetry and certain thought-provoking art activities to help students address their own insecurities.