A lovely reference from Mrs Samantha Watson from High School of Dundee. Approach indeed is important!
I am glad I can provide help Samantha! Sometimes it's not just a sufferer who needs help...
Unfortunately I am not the only one who had to fight against these illnesses. Thank you Susan and stay positive.
London was a great experience and BNP Paribas staff were brilliant. Corporations should lead this battle and show the way. Thank you Ben.
Elaine...
Thank you Ron! I am glad that students accepted me so well.
To whom it may concern,
I met Tina, along with my mum, last year just at the end of a long term stay in inpatient care for anorexia. I know that Tina especially helped my Mum as she showed her that full recovery is possible and, as Tina was always available to help or give advice whenever it was needed, we both felt as though we had gained not only a source of great knowledge and experience about what is a very complex subject but also a friend and I think this kind of approachable, friendly and kind nature is one the most important assets that Tina possesses.
Tina has always been patient and understanding whenever I have spoken to her and she is always happy to help and so I know that she would go above and beyond for those who need her help in the future too and I have no doubt about that at all. Helping people, I believe, is always more than just a job to Tina and I think that this is something which is key when working with individuals going through a very difficult time in their lives and I know it personally helped me as it makes you feel instantly cared about and at ease with her.
Furthermore, I believe Tina’s family oriented character also stands her in great stead for working with others because she can understand the dynamic of a modern family, both when this is in difficult times or happier ones for the family in question. This is something that can’t simply be taught; this must be gained through practical experience alone.
I have no doubt in my mind that Tina would be of tremendous help to a family in the future who may be experiencing difficulty and I personally feel that if my own family would have had access to someone as caring, efficient and selfless as Tina earlier then our experience of mental illness and anorexia recovery as a whole could have been a much smoother and less traumatic one as a result of her input.
Sincerely,
Ashleigh Clark
BA Undergraduate English and Film Student at Edinburgh Napier University
Tina has helped me so much over the last year during a time when I felt like nobody understood me and everyone was against me
She not only informed me about my illness and why I may be feeling the way I am (which was extremely helpful as I was very confused and angry) but she also helped my family come to grips how to approach the situation and the dangers of how bad it can get.
What struck me most was that Tina didn't have to do any of this for me, but she went out of her way to send support from another country to help me. And even after I got out of my intensive treatment programme she still didn't stop supporting me, as she knows the illness very well she understood that the time after you put the weight on can be the hardest. I have never felt forgotten with Tina.
But most of all she is an inspiration to me, she is proof that there is life after this illness, that things can get better and you can start a family, achieve dreams and be happy.
Tina made me realise how serious the illness is in a world where it is idolised to be thin and diet through the media. I cannot thank her enough for that- and her book was very helpful too.
The similarities I saw between us was scary and it was like she was talking to me personally through the words, showing me I needed to change to be happy.
Thank you Tina.
Bethany xxx
To whom it may concern,
I am writing to provide a reference for Tina McGuff whom I have known for the last year. My sister’s first approached Tina for help as my daughter had been diagnosed with anorexia and was gravely ill.
Tina kindly arranged to meet my sister’s and gave them support and help with regards to contacting agencies who could help as well as offering them significant emotional support.
Tina then began corresponding with me and was a huge comfort when I was asking her advice about the disease. Her knowledge and expertise helped alleviate my fears and she was always responsive and happy to help. We even met up when I visited Scotland and the ease at which she communicated with my daughter was inspiring and more importantly my daughter responded to Tina advice.
Tina has continued to offer support and guidance to us as a family and has done so out of the goodness of her own heart.
What I love about Tina is that she demonstrates a desire to help her fellow human being and is passionate about raising the problems of eating disorders. She has credibility as a consequence of her immense knowledge and has a respectful and professional approach to her work.
More than that she has integrity, compassion and is a wonderful ambassador for eating disorders within our society.
Kind regards
Lorraine Hyde
To whom it may concern – Tina McGuff
Tina was invited by the Ability Network at BNP Paribas to come in to the Dundee office to talk about anorexia and mental health.
Tina gave a very honest, brave and insightful account of her battle and recovery from an eating disorder. Tina also spoke about many subjects including OCD, mindfulness and NHS treatment in mental health thereafter obligingly answered many questions.
Tina's visit left us with a clearer understanding of the complex, destructive nature of eating disorders and mental health issues.
To hear Tina talk so passionately about her work as a campaigner for mental health and her hope that her book 'Seconds to Snap' will make a difference was inspirational.
Thank you
Lynne Jamieson
To whom it may concern,
Tina, has assisted myself within practice and outside practice advising me with treatment of clients regarding emotional and psychological aspects relating to eating disorders and mental illness associated with this issue. Furthermore, Tina has assisted me by offering support to a vulnerable individual with various issues, which includes an eating disorder, out with the therapy room in order to facilitate a larger support network and structure.
Tina’s input and experience is invaluable to both the individual, their family and professional sectors such as myself. I regularly seek input from Tina in order to understand at a greater depth the complexities of an eating disorder and the plethora of emotions and issues that surround this mental and physical health issue.
I would highly recommend Tina.
Regards
Vicki Simpson-Price
I had the good fortune to meet Tina through a conference in London quite recently. The event I was about to attend focussed on eating disorders and appealed to me for many reasons. I am an experienced psychotherapist, trained nurse, single mother to 2 teenage daughters and am currently setting up my private practice providing psychotherapy and counselling for young people and adults through a range of easy to access therapy platforms.
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I too suffered for many years with an eating disorder, at a time in my life when I was vulnerable and lonely trying very hard to deal with the fact that my lovely dad had been diagnosed with throat cancer and was given 6 months to live. I was 14 years old and too young to witness the trauma that followed…
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But right now is not time for that particular story, so I had felt compelled from the off to travel the distance from my home in Manchester to attend this event in London and manage somehow to cobble together child care, as despite having no family around me (my sisters live in the dales, my brothers in France) I find it hard still to rely on the kindness of my friends and their offers of help, so on this rare occasion I asked one to lend a hand, this felt important to me, enough so, that as I arrived at my his house somewhere close to midnight on the eve of the conference, youngest daughter and puppy in tow, amazingly I discovered that ‘my event’ was taking place some 2 miles away, so an easy reach the following morning. It felt weirdly good & I knew I was in the right place.
The following morning, despite my tiredness, I arrived feeling excited and listened attentively to the selection of speakers as they appeared individually on the agenda. Each were amazingly talented and experienced in their own field, their style was professional and informative….and then it was Tina’s turn to talk and without any fanfare or ceremony she began to tell her story about her life, her experiences, her heartache and she carried me and her audience tenderly, opening us up to her world, revealing some of the horrors she had experienced at such a tender age and yet despite knowing that we were hearing just a snippet of the real trauma she had endured, she chose to protect us using her talent for self-depreciating humour and deflect the fears that she had encountered through using her unique style of bravery and natural warmth throughout.
I felt deeply touched by her and experienced something quite different which I felt set her aside from the other speakers, this gentle but remarkable, strong, feisty, funny lady felt familiar to me and it made my eyes sting and my throat feel like the lump that had formed was as obvious on the outside as it felt on the inside.
When Tina finished her talk I knew that I had met a friend, a kindred spirit, someone who knew me…She did, We are now friends….
Tina you have been an inspiration to me, so much so I feel ready to talk about my own experience openly with not only my friends and family but the young people that I work with and inspire so that they may to come to someone like me or you and feel safe in order to get help for their own traumas, thank you Tina.
Your friend Lindsay George xxx
Psychotherapist/Counsellor Young people – Adults – Families – Couples