InsideOut Institute eClinic media kit

EMBARGOED: 12:01AM AEST, THURSDAY, JULY 24, 2025

GRAB 3

Bulimia nervosa is also a fairly common eating disorder, and the more rare eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and an illness called ARFID, which is an avoidant and restrictive feeding disorder that usually onsets in childhood.

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GRAB 4

About anyone can be affected by an eating disorder – males, females, actually, any gender, any cultural group, just about any age group. ARFID can onset very, very young in infancy. Anorexia can onset as young as age six. And then eating disorders onset across the lifespan right through to older adults.

 

GRAB 5

Probably somewhere around 20 per cent of people that have an eating disorder will receive some form of treatment, and of that 20 per cent, very few receive an evidence-based treatment that we know is going to work.

 

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The InsideOut Institute eClinic is the first, national,  free eClinic for the provision of services and supports for people with eating disorders, and their carers, as well as the clinicians who treat them.

 

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The InsideOut Institute eClinic offers three main services.

1. Digital therapies to people with eating disorders to help them get better tools;

2. And supports for carers and others who are navigating the journey;

3. And importantly, a secure health practitioner interface, so that if your patient chooses to, they can securely link with you and you can monitor and guide their journey.

 

GRAB 8

What we have tried to do with the InsideOut Institute eClinic is to standardise online, the highest quality intervention for eating disorders, so that it's equally accessible to a person living in a city and a person living in the most remote circumstances, so that every Australian has the right to treatment for their eating disorder and recovery.

 

GRAB 9

For a very long time we have been talking about treatment of an eating disorder, being a privilege, being very hard to access, being very expensive. We have been tinkering around the edges of our health system, providing care here and there in inconsistent ways. It is time that treatment of eating disorders, that identification of eating disorders hit the mainstream, and services were provided at scale, to every Australian.

 

GRAB 10

We really do think there's a role for, a service like the InsideOut Institute eClinic to be the front door, entry point for people to the health system with an eating disorder.

 

GRAB 11

We have digital therapies, one called BEeT, which is for eating disorders marked by binge eating. We've got another digital therapy called SkillED, which is transdiagnostic, or for people with a range of symptoms of an eating disorder restriction and weight loss, through to eating disorders marked by binge eating. We've got a toolbox to monitor your food, challenge your thoughts, and for behavioural experiments. We've got a program for carers called SupportED that gives you the skills to try to sort of live, and help a person with an eating disorder. And of course, we've got a secure portal for health professionals to be able to link with their patient, guide them through therapies, prescribe therapies for them, and refer them to other supports on the program.

 

GRAB 12

You just need to visit the website after that, there's a curated journey. So you will identify on the first page, whether you're a health professional, whether you're a carer, whether you're a person who's presenting for yourself and the, website will guide you through to the services that you need and the tools that we have to support you.

 

GRAB 13

I would just encourage you to go to the InsideOut website or go directly to the eClinic and do our brief six questions screener to let you know if we have a treatment program that could totally change your life; change your relationship with food, change your relationship with body.

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Phoebe Ho 

Clinical Psychologist, InsideOut Institute e-Clinic Lived Experience Advisory Group Member & Lived Experience Advocate, PERTH

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GRAB 1

Lots of people across Australia currently live with an eating disorder, and that statistic is currently at 1.1 million Australians – so that's 1 in 23 people across Australia living with an eating disorder today.

 

GRAB 2

The most common eating disorder is binge eating disorder, and that accounts for about half of the eating sort of presentations. We've also got eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, as well as avoidant and restrictive food intake disorder.

 

GRAB 3

People can be affected by eating disorders from all walks of life, regardless of age, ethnicity, background. And we really want to do better as a nation to support those with eating disorders and disordered eating.

 

GRAB 4

When I experienced my eating disorder in my childhood and teens, it really did have a huge impact on so many aspects of my life. Both psychologically, socially, it meant that I was tired all the time.
I didn't have the energy to do things. I was just really withdrawn, and I wasn't leading a meaningful life, and connecting with people and friends that were close to me.

 

GRAB 5

I lived with anorexia nervosa for a big part of my life, and that just meant that I was constantly not living my life to the fullest. My life was full of rules, that were unhelpful and really rigid. And it wasn't until I started seeking help that, that really helped me get to the other side, and connect with friends and family, and lead a more meaningful life.

 

GRAB 6

Living with an eating disorder has been a really harrowing experience, and it really impacts all aspects of your life, from psychological, to emotional, to social.

 

GRAB 7

We know that lots of people in Australia live with eating disorders. Only about 19 to 37 per cent of people actually end up seeking help.

 

GRAB 8

A lot of people with eating disorders don't end up seeking help for a range of factors, including things like stigma and shame. It can sometimes be really daunting and scary and difficult. Having to meet someone for that first time to share your personal and your life story to them. And we also know that sometimes it's really hard to access eating disorder care because of long waitlists. We know that there are not maybe enough trained eating disorder professionals across Australia. Accessibility issues is a huge factor that can impact people seeking timely help for an eating disorder.

 

GRAB 9

The InsideOut eClinic is Australia's first, free, online platform for people living with an eating disorder or disordered eating. The eClinic also provides support for parents and carers, or those caring for a loved one who has an eating disorder, and specifically they have an online training module called ‘supported’, which enables carers and parents to upskill to support their loved one with an eating disorder.

 

GRAB 10

I was one of the eClinic Experience Advisor group members, and I was involved alongside other members in really creating and shaping up the eClinic content, right from developing that user interface, to language, all the way to clinical content.

 

GRAB 11

It probably took about 18 months or more because there were so many different moving parts in developing in an eClinic, and we really want to make sure that it's meeting the needs of people across Australia who are experiencing disordered eating and an eating disorder.

 

GRAB 12

We know that accessing eating disorder care can be really costly. There are long waitlist times, and it can be really difficult for people living in remote, rural and regional parts of Australia. We also know that accessing care can sometimes be hard because of things like stigma and shame. What the InsideOut eClinic including offers is a free, online, readily accessible platform for people with disordered eating and eating disorders, to access care very readily available at their fingertips.

 

GRAB 13

The InsideOut eClinic differs from other online digital platforms for eating disorders is that it is heavily co-created and co-designed with people with lived experience of an eating disorder, and it not only provides care and support for someone living with an eating disorder or disordered eating, but also provides care for parents and carers, as well as health professionals.

 

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If people are interested in accessing the eClinic, they can simply head to InsideOutInstitute.org.au to determine if they can qualify.

 

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If you are living with disordered eating, or an eating disorder, please know that recovery is so incredibly worth it, and possible. And please know that the first step to recovery is seeking help through a health professional. With the development of InsideOut's new eClinic, help is more readily accessible than ever. It is free. At your fingertips, and you can access evidence-based support and care right in the comfort of your own home.

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Lucinda Price

Author, comedian, MC, broadcaster & internet personality who overcame binge eating disorder using the InsideOut Institute eClinic, SYDNEY

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GRAB 1

So, I experienced what I would describe as the Holy Trinity of eating disorders. It started with bulimia. It turned into anorexia, and then into binge eating disorder. And this was over the course of about seven years.

 

GRAB 2

I was diagnosed with an eating disorder for the first time, probably when I was 23. But prior to that, I had started having kind of disordered eating behaviours when I was 21.

 

GRAB 3

I had had periods of feeling depressed, having OCD, feeling really anxious. But it became clear after a few years, that the eating was a big part, that was contributing to the depression. So when I realised that, oh, “I think the eating is part of me feeling so bad,” that was when I realised, no, I really have to do something to fix my eating disorder because I don't want to feel this way.

 

GRAB 4

I definitely had a very typical stereotypical idea of what an eating disorder was. And I think for that reason, it took a long time for me to get proper help because I didn't look like I was on my deathbed. I wasn't missing work. I was sort of high functioning, but it was just kind of like an internal battle that I was experiencing that was totally impacting my quality of life.

 

GRAB 5

I think it's really important when you're experiencing an eating disorder, to know that it's not a personal failing, that it's chemical, it's societal. It's all these kind of things outside of your willpower as a person. So, for that reason, I think getting diagnosed can be very helpful for people, and it was helpful for me ultimately.

 

GRAB 6

Binge eating disorder is totally demonised and misunderstood, and it scares people. You know, when I had binge eating disorder, I was so scared of myself. I was scared of what was going to happen. I was constantly living in fear of, when is this going to happen again? When am I going to lose control? When am I going to become someone that society hates?

 

GRAB 7

Physically the eating disorder, it robbed me of a lot of energy because a lot of my mental faculty was used up with like, trying to stay alive, because I didn't have enough food. Mentally, the eating disorder just took over my life, and it made me feel like everything else was pointless, and it meant I was not able to fully enjoy all of the spoils that I have, and all the privileges that I have.

 

GRAB 8

Living with an eating disorder totally changed the relationships in my life. I definitely found it harder to relate to my friends because I wasn't going to the social events. I missed out on a lot of kind of like, bonding moments. And I also was not able to kind of be the person that my friends like me for, which is like, to be fun, to be silly, to be down, to do whatever. That part of my personality totally vanished

 

GRAB 9

I found out about the InsideOut Institute eClinic through the fact that I couldn't find a specialist. Someone in the industry that I was trying to see said, you know what? I don't have space for you. However, this online program that you would be a suitable candidate for. And I took her advice and used the clinic.

 

GRAB 10

I was actually part of the trial for the InsideOut Institute eClinic – one of the first people to experience it. You can do it in the comfort of your own house and reflect on why you want it, without feeling a lot of kind of stigma and pressure around spending money. So I think it's a fantastic resource because it's available for all Australians.

 

GRAB 11

I used the InsideOut Institute's eClinic binge eating e-therapy program. It's called the ‘BeET’ program. And that would help people who are experiencing binge eating disorder track their experiences. I could log my behaviours, and reflect on them in a way that gave me space away from the binge eating. I also had access to a clinician, a counsellor who I would meet up with once a week. We could talk about my week, what I'd eat, and how I felt when I ate. And a lot of it was also, DVT therapy. So reflecting on my thoughts and behaviours in a way that, yeah, it gave me space to be able to improve.

 

GRAB 12

The eClinic totally did away with treatment barriers. It's free. It's online. So if you have an internet connection, then you can get on to it. And I think as well, it just took away the stigma of needing to go and see a doctor, and, see a psychologist, a psychiatrist. There's so many treatment barriers, not only in terms of, misconceptions about eating disorders, but also financially and physically being able to get to those spaces. So in order to have help in your home, your house, I think is so transformative and really important.

 

GRAB 13

Initiatives like this are really fantastic to give more Australians access to getting better and taking their own recovery seriously. I think for a long time I didn't feel like I was sick enough to get help from a professional, whereas this is a really great starting point for people to go online, check out the clinic and see what they want to do, because I think the more that you feel like recovery is in your hands, the more able you are to take advantage of it.

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GRAB 14

People can learn more and access the eClinic through eClinic.InsideOutInstitute.org.au. There you'll find resources, you'll find the etherapies, and you can take recovery into your own hands.

 

GRAB 15

If you're someone where eating disorder thoughts are taking over your brain space, or taking up any kind of portion of real estate in your mind, you deserve to get help, or at least interrogate the ways in which you could seek recovery. And I think that's why the eClinic is really fantastic, because it's some, some way that everyone can access.

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Brock McLean

Former AFL player, mental health advocate & coach & ambassador for the InsideOut Institute eClinic, BRISBANE

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GRAB 1

I knew I had some type of eating disorder when it sort of first came about, which is around 2010, but I don't think I got formally diagnosed until, I got checked into the Malvern Clinic. It was 2017, and it was just after I, attempted suicide. I knew I had bulimia nervosa, but I wasn't officially recognised until I actually sought help.

 

GRAB 2

I was struggling with a lot of other mental health issues at the time as well. Depression, anxiety, you know, I was using drugs and alcohol to cope, with that sort of thing. Self-worth issues. During the week, Monday to Friday would pretty much consist of me struggling with, with bulimia. Yeah, and depression. And then the weekends, I would play footy, and then I would go out and I would abuse drugs and alcohol, and try and escape all of my issues, and then get to Monday morning and start the process, you know, all over again.

 

GRAB 3

I summoned up the strength to, to get in touch with the AFL Players Association. Said, hey, listen, I'm struggling. I need to start speaking to someone. And, and they put me in touch with, with Luke, you know, someone who I still speak to today. And that's when I guess the process of speaking to someone began early in 2017.

 

GRAB 4

it just felt like I was being trapped in a cycle, you know, So just a cycle of, you know, feeling like you're on top of things, feeling like you had everything under control, and then just having one moment of the temptations, so to speak, and, and then you're back in that cycle of, you know, eating junk food, throwing it up, you know, doing it again the next day, and then the next day, and then the next day and, just feeling like you, you'd lost control over every decision.

 

GRAB 5

I felt like everything stemmed from my lack of self-worth and my, my unhealthy attachment of my self-worth to football.

 

GRAB 6

I came to Carlton and, you know, had a really, frustrating first year because I was injured a lot. So the coaches wanted me to lose weight because I thought it was going to help, you know, regain some leg space and regain some form. And, against the nutritionist and doctor's advice, I did it because I was just so desperate to get to a point where I was back playing footy, because that was my only avenue of self-worth at the time. And, and that's when the really unhealthy relationship, with food really took off.

 

GRAB 7

I don't think I ever saw a man, you know, in the media talk about his eating disorder or his struggles with, with bulimia. So it was. Yeah. I didn't really know anything about it, to be honest.

 

GRAB 8

because I had it in my head that reaching out for help was a sign of weakness. You know, I thought it would be emasculating. You know, I didn't understand the power, of therapy. And I was just reluctant. Reluctant to admit any sign of weakness or struggle or, problems. Because I was a very all or nothing person. I thought that would somehow make me less of a human.

 

GRAB 9

if I ever got to a position where I was happy and healthy and felt like I felt like I could talk openly and publicly about my struggles, that I would just to try and, you know, break down that stigma and just, you know, maybe encourage some males that are out there, you know, to seek help if they really needed it.

 

GRAB 10

I always had in the back of my mind, don't be soft. Don't be weak, don't speak up. Just deal with it, get on with it, and deal with it. And I just used to push through fatigue, tiredness, lack of energy and just somehow found a way to, to deal with it all.

 

GRAB 11

the Inside Out Institute eClinic it's free of charge. Having access to that, free of charge, and online, I really feel is going to be so, so valuable to a lot of people just because they're going to have that there at the touch of  their fingertips.

 

GRAB 12

I've chosen to be an ambassador for the Inside Out Institute eClinic because, you know, I feel like I'm in a position now where I'm very comfortable talking about, you know, my struggles. They are still seven males taking their own lives, you know, every day, you know, so and that's, that's far too high. So, if I can lend my help, my voice and in turn, if that helps, one male, you know, who's struggling with an eating disorder, seek help, and speak up about struggles, then you know, that's a, that's a positive. That's a good thing.

 

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If you want more information, please access eClinic.InsideOutinstitute.org.au.

 

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Some people struggle with certain things, and some people with others. It's not a mark on your character. It doesn't say anything about you as a person. It just means you're struggling with something. Please seek help. Please look after yourself. You're valuable. You're worth it.

 

GRAB 15

So, if you are male, and if you are struggling, please hang in there, and please seek help, because there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

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