The Use of Creative Therapies with Eating Disorder Consultant Psychiatrist, Dr Louise Johnston

The Full of Beans Podcast

In this week’s episode, Han is joined by Louise Johnston. Louise is a consultant psychiatrist and clinical lead at the Eden Unit, a Regional Unit for Eating Disorders in Aberdeen, Scotland. Louise has a dual specialisation in medical psychotherapy and child and adolescent psychiatry, along with additional training in various therapeutic modalities. Louise chairs a national working group focused on managing co-morbid personality disorders and eating disorders in Scotland and is involved in the eating disorder training and accreditation system as an EEATS supervisor. Louise’s passion for creative therapies, influenced by her love for music creation, drives her efforts to contribute to advancing the evidence base in this area.

In this week's episode, we discuss:

• The role of a consultant psychiatrist when working with eating disorder patients.
• The role of the Mental Health Act for eating disorder patients and why this may be required, for example, NG tube feeding, medication and safety.
• Medications that can be used for eating disorders and the reasons behind this.
• Palliative care for eating disorders from the perspective of a consultant psychiatrist.
• The role of creative therapies in eating disorder recovery including art therapy, music therapy and many more.
• How therapists can incorporate more creative therapy modalities into their work to provide different recovery strategies to patients.

You can find out more about Louise's work at the Royal College of Psychiatry by checking out their X account, @rcpysch.

Please note that this podcast explores topics that some individuals may find difficult to hear and should not be used as a replacement for professional advice. If you need further support after this podcast, please consider talking to someone that you trust. You may also wish to reach out to your GP or mental health professional.

We've included a list of additional support options in case you need them:

Samaritans are here for whatever you are going through. You can call free any time, from any phone, on 116 123.

FirstSteps Eating Disorders is an eating disorders charity for children and their families, young people, and adults affected by eating difficulties and disorders. You can call them on or email [e-mail].

Beat Eating Disorders is an eating disorder charity offering support for those with or supporting someone with an eating disorder. You can call their helpline for free on 0808 801 0677 (England), 0808 801 0432 (Scotland), 0808 801 0433 (Wales), 0808 801 0434 (Northern Ireland).