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At 17 years old, Dr. Emilie Lacroix left her home city of Vancouver, B.C. to attend fashion school in France. It was there, she says, that she first recognized the prevalence of eating disorders.

“Being in that environment, I became really aware of my own body image concerns and the extreme pressures around appearance,” said Lacroix. “After dropping out of fashion school and working in the retail industry back in Canada for a year, I began an undergraduate degree and soon found a passion for psychological research.”

Years later, she is pioneering the field of eating disorder research in New Brunswick.

Lacroix is now a clinical psychologist and an assistant professor in the department of psychology at the University of New Brunswick (UNB).

She has become a leader in the field of eating disorder research through her role as co-director of the Maritime Eating and Appearance Lab (MEAL), a research group that focuses on the development, prevention and treatment of disordered eating and body image concerns.

The group includes collaborators and trainees at UNB, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia Health, and Saint Thomas University (STU), among others. Together, they strive to change the all-too-common narrative surrounding eating disorders and body image concerns.

Lacroix established MEAL in 2022 alongside her Dalhousie University co-director Dr. Aaron Keshen. Lacroix and Keshen were both eager to contribute to the fight against eating disorders, and they did so by conducting collaborative research that spans across multiple disciplines.

“The overall vision of the lab is to do research that will help create a world where no one is limited by body image concerns or eating disorders,” said Lacroix.

She says that eating disorders are much more common than people may think, particularly among women and gender-diverse people. Lacroix estimated that, at any given time, one in 22 people in New Brunswick have an eating disorder.

“So, it’s great to contribute to work that helps address the burdens of eating disorders, and at the same time, I get to collaborate with awesome people and work with awesome students,” she said.

“It’s not just research where I’m sitting behind a desk, analyzing data – I’m working with people who have lived experiences and with clinicians to ensure we do work that is useful, and conduct our research in a sensitive and experience-informed way.”

Lacroix says there are no publicly funded, specialized eating disorder treatment programs in New Brunswick. She and her collaborators hope to change that.

At the end of May, Lacroix co-hosted a summit event alongside STU assistant professor of social work, Dr. Jenni Cammaert, which discussed the development of care pathways for people with eating disorders in the province.

UNB’s Wu Conference Centre hosted the NB Eating Disorder Summit’s 150 guests, which included researchers, policymakers, people with lived experience and a diverse group of healthcare professionals, representing every health zone in the province.

“There has never been an event like this to start this conversation, but there is such a thirst and a need for it,” said Lacroix.

She says that this was the first eating disorder summit that has ever happened in New Brunswick.

“It was clear how thirsty people were for information and for training, and to have the chance to speak about this and meet people they can collaborate with,” she said.

Clinical psychologist Dr. Julie Villers was among the diverse group of healthcare professionals to participate in Lacroix’s eating disorder summit.

Villers practices family-based treatment therapy in Dieppe. Much of her work is associated with the assessment and treatment of eating disorders.

“Feeding and eating disorders can be very difficult to treat and given their serious nature, it is so important to be able to feel connected and supported by other clinicians in the community,” said Villers. “The summit allowed for wonderful connections and exchanges and allowed us to feel heard.”

Lacroix hopes the connections that were made at the summit, as well as the research being done at MEAL, will spark important conversations about eating disorders and body image concerns that will eventually pave the way to improved care pathways.

“It’s all about creating a world where people are free of appearance concerns and disordered eating and can meet their full potential,” she said.

Photo: At the end of May, UNB hosted the NB Eating Disorder Summit, which discussed the development of care pathways for people with eating disorders in the province.