New eating disorders clinic in London, Ont.

Frustration over long wait times has spurred a doctor to create a new eating disorders clinic in London, Ont.

‘The Harbour’ is located inside Western University Research Park.

Its founding mission will be to treat and counsel postsecondary-age students attending Western and Fanshawe College.

Dr. Robbie Campbell, a professor emeritus and founder of the Eating Disorders Foundation of Canada, is behind the project.

He said The Harbour is designed to be a welcoming space to open up about anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorders.

“Right now, people will go to a doctor or a therapist and they don’t even mention eating disorders. They’re too frightened. They use it, almost as a secret weapon against themselves. So, I hope the public will be more comfortable about it and realize it is a problem for everyone,” said Campbell.

With office furniture delayed, The Habour patients are being temporarily seen next to the new space.

But walking through the facility, it is clear new technologies will be utilized. They include videoconferencing rooms. Campbell said patients will be able to meet with medical and mental health professionals in person and remotely.

“So, we can bring in the dietitians, bring in the recreational therapists, we can bring in the family docs, we can bring in whoever you want, like the psychologist. We can bring in a music therapist. We can bring in an art therapist, yoga, this kind of thing,” he said.

Campbell, who has been practicing in the field for five decades, told CTV News London he created The Habour to ease a two-year wait time for some eating treatments.

Postsecondary students who attend the clinic will be partially covered by funds raised by the Eating Disorders Foundation of Canada.

A fundraising concert for The Harbour takes place Wednesday evening at the London City Music Hall.

In the future, Campbell hopes government funding will cover the balance of the fees for patients, “We're going to be able to make a good pitch. So, if we raise half the dollars with a $500,000 yearly cost, we’re hoping the government can also raise $500,000.”

With untreated eating disorders leading to physical and mental health problems, including suicides, Campbell argues that enhanced treatment is long overdue, “If you leave it on the shelf too long, it becomes worse. It's like anything else, you’ve got to nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand. We want to treat the whole person. The measure of success is being able to feel good about yourself and taking the next steps, including being able to get through school and gaining a little bit of confidence and respecting yourself a little bit better.”