Members of the school’s staff attended a training session held on the school’s premises in Puçol given by Miguel Ángel Sanmartín, a clinical psychologist from AVALCAB, the Valencian Association of Family Members and Patients with Eating Disorders, to help them better detect and address the first signs of these conditions and improve student physical and emotional wellbeing.

Our team of psychologists organised a training session for teaching and non-teaching staff in the first week of September to raise awareness and provide information about eating disorders, offering guidance on how to better understand, prevent, and support those affected.

Miguel Ángel Sanmartín began his workshop by explaining that eating disorders are multifaceted and involve a combination of complex biological, medical, and psychological factors that are difficult to treat. ‘Visible symptoms like weight loss or a lack of appetite are just the tip of the iceberg, because the true root of the problem is psychological’, he warned.

The specialist stressed that, unlike other patients, those with eating disorders often don't genuinely want to recover and tend to hide the symptoms of their condition, which makes detection even more difficult. He also noted that these disorders are most common in intelligent, self-demanding young women who don't always understand why they are suffering these difficulties.

The Role of Families and Schools

Individual psychotherapy is essential, Sanmartín explained, but treatment must also involve the family. ‘When the whole family, friends, and teachers understand and get involved, the process is much more effective’, he stated. He added that demands and impositions don't work, and it's more important to establish clear, common rules while avoiding direct confrontation.

Prevention and Early Detection

During the Q&A session, the topic of how to detect and prevent a potential disorder was addressed. Sanmartín advised looking to see if a young person shows fear of the amount of food, chews very little, or swallows quickly, as these signs can indicate a problem. He also recommended explaining the digestive process to dispel the myth that the only purpose of eating is to gain weight. He suggested varying meals to check for specific food phobias, because this could be an indication that the young person doesn’t suffer from a full-blown disorder.

He also championed the importance of strengthening adolescents' identity and self-perception, because he believes modern society pushes them to develop a personality based on appearance. ‘Education is the best defence young people can have to stay away from these negative influences that distort their identity’, he cautioned.

A Graphic Analogy: Education as Archaeology

To conclude, Sanmartín compared the work of education and therapy to that of archaeologists who take thousands of photos of a site to eventually get a precise three-dimensional image using photogrammetry. ‘Education also requires many different views and perspectives to build a strong personality’, he concluded.

Through this session, the school took another step in our commitment to the comprehensive training of our staff and creating a safe and healthy environment where any difficulties related to mental health can be detected and addressed in a timely manner.

Caxton College is the author of this content, which has been published in Spanish media such as El Periódico de Aquí and Valencia Plaza, and English media such as Valencia International.