The Renfrew Center Launches "Beyond The Mirror" Campaign To Redirect Negative Self-Talk To Powerful Self-Love

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 24, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Renfrew Center, the country's first residential eating disorder treatment facility, announces the launch of a powerful campaign that takes on one of the most destructive health trends in society today. Renfrew's campaign, "Beyond the Mirror," works to disrupt the negative self-talk that so often occurs when women look at themselves in the mirror – a practice that can lead them down the road to distorted body image, depression, eating disorders and other forms of unhealthy and risky behaviors. The campaign is launching concurrently with National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (NEDAW) February 24-March 1, 2020.

Utilizing messaging placed on mirrors in public places, Beyond the Mirror helps redirect a woman's focus away from physical attributes and inspires thoughts about what she considers positive traits about herself. Across the country, dozens of women's clothing retailers, bridal shops, colleges, universities and sororities are eagerly displaying hundreds of Renfrew's Beyond the Mirror decals in their dressing rooms and restrooms during the month of February. The mirror clings communicate body-positive messages such as 'Love What You See' and 'Beyond Size, Beyond Weight, Beyond the Numbers.'

Supplemental messaging then encourages women to complete the sentence, "When I take a deeper look beyond the mirror, I see __________," and share their responses on social media during NEDAW using the hashtag #BeyondTheMirrorWithRenfrew. From past NEDAW campaigns, Renfrew has found that by encouraging women to join a conversation with a specific topic—and giving them a place to do so via a social media hashtag—results in positive peer interactions.

"What a person—especially a woman—perceives about herself at a first glance in the mirror may be more emotionally destructive than people may realize," says Adrienne Ressler, Vice President, Professional Development, The Renfrew Center Foundation. "Many women use the mirror as a vehicle to seek out flaws, rather than embracing what they see. Noticing something as seemingly innocent as a blemish can serve as the gateway to deeper negative self-talk. Add to this unflattering lighting or distortions and you have a dangerous recipe. We see women who step away from a mirror deciding they are too heavy, unattractive, not as good as everyone else. Renfrew's vision is to disrupt these negative thoughts as they are happening and replace them with positive affirmations that can prevent further negativity and encourage more self-acceptance and/or self-love."

According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, at least 30 million people suffer from an eating disorder in the U.S., and someone dies every 62 seconds as a direct result of an eating disorder, giving it the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. A pioneer in treatment of eating disorders since 1985, Renfrew draws an undeniable, direct correlation between negative body image/self-talk and the development of eating disordered behavior in women and men of all ages.

About The Renfrew Center
The Renfrew Center has been the pioneer in the treatment of eating disorders since 1985. As the nation's first residential eating disorder facility, with 19 locations throughout the country, Renfrew has helped more than 85,000 adolescent girls and women with eating disorders move towards recovery. Renfrew provides women suffering from anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, and related mental health problems with the tools they need to succeed in recovery and in life. Renfrew's extensive range of services includes residential, day treatment, intensive outpatient, and outpatient programs. Each treatment level is built upon The Renfrew Center Unified Treatment Model for Eating Disorders®, an evidence-based, emotion-focused therapy that addresses eating disorders and co-morbid symptoms. Within this model, individual and group therapy are enhanced with a diverse array of services to meet patients' needs. Renfrew accepts most major insurances and is a preferred provider for all levels of treatment.

SOURCE The Renfrew Center