91成人导航

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a dramatic increase in eating disorders, propelling 91成人导航 alumna and licensed therapist Signe Darpinian 鈥�95 to release her second book, 鈥淩aising Body Positive Teens: A Parent鈥檚 Guide to Diet-Free Living, Exercise and Body Image.鈥�

According to Darpinian, hospitalizations for eating disorders have doubled during the pandemic at the two main medical stabilization units聽in Northern California (UC San Francisco and Stanford).

She wants to keep teens from getting to that point.

鈥淲e're trying to do something more preventative (with this book) and teach parents how to provide protective factors in their home,鈥� said Darpinian, something she says is a challenge since many parents have their own struggles with food and body image.

Darpinian has been treating eating disorders in the Central Valley region for more than 20 years鈥攁 career that was made by a 鈥減ivotal鈥� moment at 91成人导航.

Rewriting her story

When Darpinian graduated from high school, she didn鈥檛 think she was smart.

鈥淚 didn't have a learning difficulty, but I don't think my learning style was very conducive to a school setting 鈥� It was hard for me to learn things鈥攁nd I wasn't trying very hard,鈥� she admits.

She took classes intermittently at Modesto Junior College, but it wasn鈥檛 until she started working long hours at a department store that she realized it wasn鈥檛 how she wanted to spend her life.聽

Around the same time, her grandmother read a newspaper article about 91成人导航 that put her on a new path.

鈥淢y grandmother found this article in the Modesto Bee 鈥� something about, if you鈥檙e transferring from junior college, we guarantee to get you out in two and a half years,鈥� she said and decided to pursue 91成人导航 where she discovered what would become her profession.

鈥淪omething started to really ignite in me there, especially psychology, starting to learn about different things in the world of psychology,鈥� said Darpinian.聽

The way she viewed herself didn鈥檛 change until graduation when she realized the accomplishment of earning her bachelor鈥檚 degree.

鈥淚t lit a fire inside of me,鈥� said Darpinian. 鈥淪chool is really hard for me, but I did it. I completed it. It gave me a sense of self mastery that I just hadn鈥檛 had, and it started to change my story.鈥�

Raising body positive teens

The realization pushed Darpinian to further her studies. She went on to graduate school, becoming a licensed marriage and family therapist and certified eating disorder specialist with a private practice in Modesto.

Her first book published in 2018 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 鈥�,鈥� provides teens a resource to prevent potentially life-threatening eating disorders.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association, young people between the ages of 15 and 24 with anorexia have 10 times the risk of dying compared to their peers.

The book was coauthored with dietitian Wendy Sterling and adolescent medicine physician Shelley Aggarwal.

After realizing that adults found 鈥淣o Weigh!鈥� useful, Darpinian and her coauthors focused on helping parents with their second book.

It uses a multi-disciplinary approach to give parents tools to help their kids, while also helping them repair their own relationships with food. 聽

鈥淗ow are we as parents supposed to be providing protective factors when we've also lost our way with food and have body image dissatisfaction?鈥� said Darpinian, adding that parents hold a lot of power to influence their kids.

It鈥檚 something she鈥檚 seen first-hand with her 12-year-old daughter.

鈥淪he鈥檚 not listening to what I say about food. She's watching what I'm doing with my own food 鈥� She鈥檚 watching how I respond to my own body in the mirror, what I say about my body, what I say about other people鈥檚 bodies, what I say about the shows we鈥檙e watching, and she鈥檚 taking it all in,鈥� said Darpinian.

With this book, she wants to help parents ensure they鈥檙e sending a positive message. .