NORMAL In Schools

NORMAL In Schools is a national arts and educational nonprofit that teaches about eating disorders, body image and self-esteem.  Their FREE 50-minute documentary film will be available on their website (www.normal-life.org) as part of NEDAwareness Week 2011 and interviews more than 13 of the nation’s leading medical researchers in the area of mental health, offering powerful insights to eating disorders, the world of health care and the epidemic of obesity.

For the four years NORMAL In Schools (NIS) has been serving communities nationwide, it has delivered its award-winning programming to more than 15,000 children and families in at-risk, public AND private schools, in medical facilities and in theatre festivals worldwide. In recognition of our ground-breaking work, we were awarded the 2010 Champion in Women’s Health Award by The Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation. Most notably, the NIS program has clinically shown to assist patients into treatment for eating disorders and related illnesses due to the universal appeal of the gripping rock musical (nor.mal:) and the shame-breaking talkback panel with expert clinicians and people in recovery.

NIS Programs include

Online resources, Mindfulness and Meditation Guide, Live NIS Program, 90-page Curriculum, INSIDE OUT, SELF ESTEEM STOMP, What-Is-Normal blog and (coming soon) the Online Film (medical segment of the film are comprised of footage from interviews we conducted with more than a dozen nationally acclaimed, leading medical experts and researchers. Some of the footage is available online for free on our Youtube Channel. Topics range from defining eating disorders, binge eating disorder and obesity, to prevention, wellness and how families are not to blame.)

Five years in the making, NORMAL In Schools (NIS) Founder and President, Robyn Hussa, explores the physiological, biological and social elements contributing to the growing problem of eating disorders (ED) and obesity in our society. Through the NIS nonprofit arts programs in schools and treatment hospitals, she has had the unique opportunity to communicate with clinicians, families and sufferers of this tragic disorder and provide hope in recognizing the pain and suffering of both the inflicted and their families.  This documentary film is penetrating and insightful in shedding light on a highly misunderstood mental illness, while shattering misconceptions about ED and obesity.

SPEAKING OUT ABOUT ED is a 40-minute documentary film beginning with a solid overview of the symptoms and types of disorders and a basic discussion of the biological underpinnings. Professionals explain why eating disorders are a disease not a “choice.”  In addition, they make a very important point that can’t be stressed enough.  Disordered eating behaviors, no matter what kind, are a coping mechanism to deal with feelings rather than to alleviate appearance concerns.

The film features some of the world’s leading experts on eating disorders such as Dr. Evelyn Attia, M.D., Director Columbia University Eating Disorders, Carolyn Costin, M.A., M.Ed., MFT, Director of Montenido, Dr. Steven Hinshaw, Ph.D., Chair of Psychology UC-Berkeley, Julie Holland, MHS, Director, IAEDP,  Dr. Walter Kaye, M.D., Director, Eating Disorders Program — UC San Diego, Dr. Ken Weiner, M.D., Founding Partner, Eating Recovery Center, Lynn Grefe, President and CEO of NEDA, Chevese Turner, founder of the Binge Eating Disorder Association and Robyn Hussa, the president of NORMAL in Schools as well as others.


Last Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on April 25, 2012

Page last updated: June 12, 2012
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com, Information for Eating Disorders