In this week's episode, Hannah is joined by Jenny Langley, an advocate in the eating disorder community. After supporting her son through anorexia 20 years ago, Jenny has dedicated her life to making sure families feel informed, empowered, and never alone.

For over 15 years, Jenny has worked with the Eating Disorders Research team at the Institute of Psychiatry and is trained in the New Maudsley Model, where she now coaches carers, trains clinicians, and delivers practical skills workshops. She is co-author of the New Maudsley Skills-Based Training Manual and writer of Boys Get Anorexia Too, a book that has helped countless families feel seen.

This week, we discuss:

• What it’s really like to support a child through anorexia as a parent
• The shock, guilt, shame many carers describe
• Early inpatient treatment, trauma, and learning on the job as a family
• The New Maudsley approach for supporting family dynamics
• The animal metaphors (rhino, kangaroo, jellyfish, terrier, ostrich, dolphins, St Bernard)
• Why carers’ self-care isn’t selfish, it’s essential
• The unique role of dads and male carers
• Relapse, “safety behaviours” and why recovery often looks more like discovery

Carers matter. Families matter. And with the right support, they can be powerful allies in recovery – not by being perfect, but by staying, learning and loving through the mess.

Timestamps:

01:20 – Jenny’s Story

05:30 – Emotions Felt By Parents and Carers

11:00 – Externalising the eating disorder as “Rex”

16:40 –The New Maudsley Approach

28:20 – Animal Metaphors and Carer Styles

41:00 – Treatment Trauma, NG Feeding and Post-Discharge

55:10 – Dads, Male Carers and Keeping Communication Open

Resources & Links

• Connect with Jenny visit her website

Connect with Us:

• Subscribe to the Full of Beans Podcast here
• Follow Full of Beans on Instagram here
• Check out our website here
• Listen on YOUTUBE here

⚠️ Trigger Warning: Mentions of eating disorders. Please take care when listening.

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Sending positive beans your way, Han 💛