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Adequate Treatment and Costs
for Eating Disorders
 Gail R. Schoenbach
Gail R. Schoenbach / F.R.E.E.D. Foundation
New Jersey
Gail Schoenbach, an activist and person in recovery,
will talk about her experiences in treatment. "I was binging
and purging 10-20 times a day. When I first sought treatment, we paid
out-of-pocket, $900 a week for an out-patient program." She said that when
she relapsed, she checked herself into a six-week program in Florida,
costing $50,000. "We took out a mortgage on our home." Now,
Schoenbach is passionate about raising money and awareness for eating
disorders treatment programs.
Born and raised in suburban Demarest, New Jersey, in the early 1960's
Gail was a responsible, friendly and creative child. The oldest of three
girls, Gail did well in school, and was well liked by teachers, yet was
individualistic and independent from her peers. In high school she was
active and athletic, but like most teenage girls she experienced low self
esteem. Throughout her adolescence and teen years Gail was a sensitive and
conscientious person.
In 1979 she graduated from high school and enrolled in Rider College in
Lawrenceville, NJ. It was here that the first destructive eating behaviors
developed. She began to diet and skip meals to lose weight. Then, deciding
that she did not want to gain the weight back she began to purge the food
she ate. Almost immediately Gail became obsessed with eating and purging
and her focus was maintained on it.
Gail kept her problem secret from everyone. Toward the end of college,
a few concerned friends went to her parents with their suspicions, but
they never confronted Gail. Her parents took her to a medical doctor who
diagnosed it as merely a "phase" that she would outgrow. Subsequent trips
to a therapist were not helpful. Her bulimia went essentially unchecked
throughout her college experience, wreaking its toll on her physical and
psychological well being. In 1983 she graduated with a B.S. in Marketing
and a minor in Art, having won an award for one of her paintings. While
outwardly she was entering professional life with a seemingly fresh canvas
to apply her creative talents and energy, inside she carried the terrible
burden of her illness.
Gail went to work in New York City. For eight years she labored in the
financial industry as a licensed securities representative. She was
effective in her job but found no creative outlet in the work. She felt
trapped in her career and entrenched in her eating disorder. She sought
relief in travel, spending time in France and California. Eventually she
returned to New York still unresolved about her career, and unsure about
her life direction.
In June of 1987 she met Robert Schoenbach in Fire Island, NY, a young
successful NY City contractor. In October of 1989 they married, her
bulimia still a secret. Over the next number of years they began a family.
Their daughter Dana was born in 1991, followed by Jamie in 1993 and a son,
Jake in 1997. During these years they moved from NY City to Florida and
back to New Jersey. Gail was handling the difficulties of early child
rearing with the ever present guilt associated with her eating disorder.
She was never symptom free although she did keep it under control during
her pregnancies, under close doctor supervision. In 1994 Robert was
involved in a serious car accident. He recovered, and in 1996 the family
moved to suburban Warren, NJ.
Gail and Robert became active in their new community. Gail joined the
preschool committee at Mountaintop Preschool and Kindergarten, ultimately
serving as its chairperson for two years. She was elected to the Board of
Directors at Temple Har Shalom where she still serves. To these
commitments she brought a creative, energetic presence, making many
friends in the process. She and her husband Robert enjoyed an active
social calendar. She seemed to be a woman in control of a successful happy
life, though privately she continued to wage a daily battle against her
disease. The disease continually got the better of her.
Throughout the years Gail had quietly sought help. There had been brief
periods of therapy and medication, but none of it was to lasting benefit.
Then, in 2000, twenty two years into the disorder, two close friends
approached Gail's husband about their concern for her health. Robert
listened, and researched the disorder. Shortly thereafter he approached
Gail with a message of support and a recommendation that she seek
treatment at the Renfrew Center in Allendale, New Jersey.
Gail began outpatient treatment at Renfrew in June of 2001. It was a
major step in the direction of recovery. The center was a vibrant and
committed organization; its staff knowledgeable and well trained. She
continued with the outpatient program for a full year, building a support
network and establishing new healthy eating patterns.
In September of 2001 Gail had a major relapse. The September 11 attacks
in NY were particularly devastating given all her connections with the
city. Two days later her pharmacy made a mistake with her medications. Her
symptoms became very severe and her functioning and concentration began to
diminish. By November Gail knew she was in bad shape and needed to get
inpatient help.
She traveled to Coconut Creek, Florida and spent five weeks away from
her family at Renfrew¹s inpatient facility. She felt her chances had run
out. She needed to end the cycle for the sake of her husband and children,
and for her own survival. She knew there would never be a better
opportunity to get well.
It was the turning point of her life. With the help of the staff at
Renfrew, the support of her family and therapist, Gail gradually gained
control of her disorder. She returned home, committed to her ongoing
therapy, and with the awareness that she had the power and responsibility
to make her own life better.
Four months after Gail's return home from Florida, her husband Robert
became ill and was hospitalized for six weeks. It was a time of tremendous
stress for the family and an immediate test of Gail's strength and
recovery. She was able to maintain her health, support her husband, and
hold the family together. It was a defining moment. Never before had she
faced a major crisis without lapsing into the harmful pattern of her
disorder. This time she met the challenge. Robert recovered, and Gail felt
a growing confidence in her own recovery.
She conceived of the idea to create a foundation to educate and provide
resources to others suffering from eating disorders. She felt a strong
need to tell her story and be an example of how treatment can work. During
her recovery she had been surprised and devastated to learn that insurance
coverage for eating disorder treatment is extremely limited. She felt
fortunate to have had the financial resources to persevere and felt
compelled to help reform the system for the benefit of others. Gail's
lobbying efforts and the formation of the F.R.E.E.D. Foundation became
part of Gail¹s own recovery therapy.
Since that time Gail has pursued her cause with drive and focus. Her
story has been featured in national magazines and television programs. She
has become an active leader in the Eating Disorders Coalition, and the
National Eating Disorders Association. She is a lobbyist, expert panelist,
lecturer and tireless advocate for eating disorder causes.
Her goal is to expand the scope and reach of her foundation, to bring
educational and financial resources to those in need. With the passion of
its founder, a survivor against all odds, the Gail Schoenbach F.R.E.E.D.
Foundation is poised to take on the scourge of bulimia, and other
debilitating eating disorders, and win.
For more information about Gail Schoenbach, visit
http://www.freedfoundation.org/index.html
We thank the U.S. Senate sponsors for this
briefing,
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 Senator
Norm Coleman
(R-Minnesota)
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 Senator
Mark Dayton
(D-Minnesota)
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