We are an independent charity, originally established in 1996 by a group of people who were affected by eating disorders and who were concerned that they were not able to find helpful information, guidance and help when they needed it. We provide non-judgemental support to people affected by eating disorders. This includes a range of eating problems, please see our information on types of eating disorder for more information. We see people whose relationship with food, and maybe their body image, dominates their lives, and we help the people who care about them. Men, women, young and old, all access our services. You don’t have to look a particular way to get support from us. We provide treatment which may be one to one therapeutic and practical support for people experiencing eating disorders and for families and friends. We also facilitate support groups, and we deliver education and training sessions in schools, colleges, to professionals and the wider community.  We appreciate that eating disorders, can have a devastating impact on the people who experience them, and on the people around them. We have a particular focus on prevention, by working with people who might be at risk of developing an eating disorder in order to help them to become more resilient. We also try to work with people who are experiencing eating disorders as early as possible into the illness to try to stop the eating disorder from becoming more severe. The work of SYEDA is overseen by a board of volunteers who have a range of skills and experience. We have a team of dedicated, skilled staff and we are lucky enough to have some dedicated volunteers who support us in delivering our services.