SoulPaws is breaking barriers by providing a no-cost alternative with no-diagnostic requirements for participation in our healing circles. SoulPaws uses the emergent research on Animal-Assisted Interventions (AAI), neurobiology and affect regulation, while also acknowledging the diverse presentation of eating disorders and populations they impact.

 

Eating disorders affect people of every racial, gender, and cultural identity as well as all abilities and sexual orientations, but for decades the societal perception was that only young, cisgender, affluent, and white women developed the disorder (Schlossberg, 2021). Michael Strober, PhD, distinguished professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UCLA and director of the Eating Disorders Program at the Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA, advocates for the recognition of the unique cultural forces that impact the development and treatment of eating disorders in communities of color(Schlossberg, 2021).

 

The eating disorder treatment system is struggling because of the reverberations of the incorrect systemic beliefs that eating disorders did not exist in lower social classes or people of color (Schlossberg, 2021). Historically, diagnostic tools were developed for white female groups, and lack the comprehensive nature required to fully assess beyond body mass index (BMI) charts. If someone does not meet the BMI criteria, they cannot access eating disorder treatment.

 

It is theorized that there is a generally lower treatment rate for eating disorders among certain demographics because there is a difference in the clinical presentation that is not adequately captured by traditional instruments that were initially developed for white populations. People of color with self-acknowledged eating and weight concerns were significantly less likely than white participants to have been asked by a doctor about eating disorder symptoms, despite similar rates of eating disorder symptoms across ethnic groups. (Becker, 2003). Data show that Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) are significantly less likely than white people to have been asked by a doctor about eating disorder symptoms (Scholossberg, 2021). Diagnosis could bridge the difference for many patients of color, but nuances in classification have made it challenging, says Gail Wyatt, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and professor-in-residence of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA (Scholossberg, 2021). Beyond diagnostic problems, adequate access to treatment remains an additional barrier for individuals from marginalized communities with eating disorders (Becker et al., 2003).

 

Compounding the roadblocks to care, individuals may lack the financial resources to access treatment (Deloitte Access Economics, 2020). Institutional racism has historically led Black women to have greater rates of poverty when compared to white women (Becker et al., 2003). This poverty makes it harder to access healthcare which can make obtaining an eating disorder diagnosis difficult and costly (Deloitte Access Economics, 2020).