Past Events

Volunteer EXTRAS are needed for the filming of “Friday Night Lights” at the Cotton Bowl on July 16^th-17^th. The Elisa Project will receive a donation of $20 for each person that we recruit.

The Elisa Project is proud to announce the Family & Friends Support Group. Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas is joining with us to offer this important service for those who have a loved one struggling with an eating disorder. Meetings will be held on the first and third Thursdays of each month, from 6:00 - 7:00 pm, in the Serenity Room at the Community Mental Health Center at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, 8200 Walnut Hill Lane.

Girls in Motion is a one-week, positive body image, nutrition, and physical fitness camp for preadolescent girls. Discussion and education about healthy body image, exercise, nutrition, fun games, learning to make healthy snacks and physical activity are a part of every day. Camps are held at multiple locations throughout the metroplex. For more information, contact Mandy Golman at mgolman@theelisaproject.org.

Men and Women with anorexia nervosa or other eating disorders are invited to participate in a study about neurological and genetic basis of eating disorders.

The Elisa Project is proud to announce the Family & Friends Support Group. Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas is joining with us to offer this important service for those who have a loved one struggling with an eating disorder. Meetings will be held on the first and third Thursdays of each month, from 6:00 - 7:00 pm, in the Serenity Room at the Community Mental Health Center at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, 8200 Walnut Hill Lane.

Carrie McAdams, MD, PhD, a psychiatry resident with UT Southwestern Medical Center, is recruiting women volunteers, between 18 and 45, who are in the process of recovering from anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa for a research study on eating disorders.

The study is focused on improving the understanding of the pathology involved in the development and maintenance of eating disorders. This is NOT a treatment study. Volunteers may be asked to participate in one to four sessions, each of which will be one to two hours long. These sessions will include a medical and scientific screening interview, complete pen and paper surveys, and perform behavioral tasks on computers. Some volunteers may also be asked to participate in functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments at UT Southwestern. Volunteers will be compensated for their time. Volunteers completing the MRI tasks will be given a DVD of their brain images.

 If you are interested in volunteering or would like more information, please contact Dr. Carrie McAdams at 214.645.6878 x 44956 or 972-883-3252, or e-mail her at carrie.mcadams@parknet.pmh.org.

NARSAD, the Brain and Behavior Research Fund, brings cutting-edge science to families and health professionals with a series of free public forums being held nationwide to highlight the latest breakthroughs in mental health research and treatment. The Elisa Project and UT Southwestern Medical Center are honored to join NARSAD in sponsoring the following local program:

Eating Disorders Forum -- Sunday, May 2, 2010, 2 to 4:30 pm

This event is free and open to the public; however, seating is limited. Register now to attend the informative event!

Speakers:

• Stephanie Setliff, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and The Elisa Project's Vice President of Programs: The clinical treatment of eating disorders
• Carrie McAdams, MD, PhD, Psychiatry Resident: Social thinking in Anorexia Nervosa
• Jeffrey Sigman, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine and Psychiatry: Does the hormone ghrelin contribute to the eating behaviors characteristic of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimina Nervosa?
• Michael Lutter, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry: Behavioral flexibility: A link between Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Anorexia Nervosa?

12:30pm. Join us for a light lunch and discussion with nationally recognized author, speaker and clinician Carolyn Costin as she discusses “Our Dieting Daughters.”

Carolyn Costin will be presenting a professional workshop titled “From Disordered to Recovered” at Southern Methodist University from 8:30am-11:30am. This workshop is ideal for anyone working in the eating disorder field. Registration fee: $75.00. Community members welcome.

Calling all 4th-6th grade girls for a lunchbox makeover! Join the Elisa Project and Girls in Motion for “Crafts and Conversation” at the new Whole Foods on Park Lane on April 11th from 2:00-3:30pm. Participants will decorate a new lunch bag while discussing ways to improve their lunches every day.

Esteem – the newest event of The Elisa Project – is a celebration of positive body image that will be held in conjunction with National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. Local celebrities will join girls and women, boys and men, of all ages and sizes, to embrace healthy, balanced lifestyles and self acceptance. By helping to increase awareness about eating disorders and the importance of positive body image, ESTEEM encourages people to love themselves while striving to be healthy.

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week will take place from February 21 to 27, 2010.  Across the nation, those touched and affected by these illnesses will take part in programs and events that increase awareness about eating disorders and the need for early intervention and treatment. The Elisa Project will be hosting two local events:

• Evening Lecture with Kathryn Zerbe, MD: What's Your Best Friend Not Telling You? Eating Disorders in Adolescence, Adulthood, Middle Age and Beyond, Thursday, February 18, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m., Hockaday School. Professional and community members alike are encouraged to attend this event which is being jointly sponsored by the Dallas Psychoanalytic Center, The Elisa Project, Childrens Medical Center, and UT Southwestern Medical Center. For more information or to register, visit the Lecture under upcoming events.
• ESTEEM A Fashion Show, Wednesday, March 3, 9:00 a.m., The Grand Pavilion of the Dallas Trade Mart. ESTEEM – the newest event of The Elisa Project – is a celebration of positive body image held in conjunction with National Eating Disorders Awareness Week. Local celebrities will join girls and women, boys and men, of all ages and sizes, to embrace healthy, balanced lifestyles and self acceptance. By helping to increase awareness about eating disorders and the importance of positive body image, ESTEEM encourages people to love themselves while striving to be healthy. For more information or to register, visit ESTEEM under upcoming events.

The Elisa Project and the Dallas Foundation for Psychoanalysis will present an evening lecture with Kathryn Zerbe, MD. Dr. Zerbe will be speaking on What's Your Best Friend Not Telling You?  Eating Disorders in Adolescence, Adulthood, Middle Age and Beyond. A frequently requested speaker both nationally and internationally, Dr. Zerbe is the author of The Body Betrayed: Women, Eating Disorders, and Treatment and the forthcoming Integrated Treatment of Eating Disorders: Beyond the Body Betrayed. Professional and community members alike are encouraged to attend. Continuing educaiton credits will be provided.
 

The 5th Annual Life Lessons Luncheon, the signature event of The Elisa Project, raised more than $200,000.  WFAA anchor Gloria Campos served as master of ceremonies. Monica Seles, tennis legend and author of Getting a Grip: On My Body, My Mind, My Self, was the incredible keynote speaker. Ms. Seles spoke of her very personal story of binge eating and the devastation it caused her. Anne Besser served a luncheon chair of the event which seated over 650 guests.