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Difficult conversations are a necessary part of treatment. This presentation explores difficult topics that arise in the treatment of eating disorders. Through sharing stories of successes and fumbles experienced by ourselves and our colleagues, we seek to help providers tackle these awkward moments with confidence, humility and therapeutic efficacy.
Evidence indicates that competent involvement of clients’ male loved ones (MLOs) improves outcomes and increases treatment efficiency. However, MLOs remain under-utilized or untapped natural resources for professionals. Professionals and programs will get evidence-based strategies to reduce barriers to healthy MLO involvement in treatment--including barriers unintentionally erected by professionals themselves.
Bariatric surgery requires comprehensive aftercare to optimize outcomes. Therapists and dietitians need to implement best practices with weight loss surgery patients in order to prevent relapse with eating disorder behaviors and other complications. Non-compliance, self-sabotage, body image, nutritional deficiencies, weight re-gain, addiction transfer, and post-operative eating disorders will be addressed.
There is much to gain from research on brain and mind interface. This presentation explores neuroscience research, the gut-brain axis, and how research supports the use of mindfulness/body awareness. Clear meaningful techniques will be provided to guide the therapist and dietitian in teaching clients to utilize these discoveries towards recovery.
The emotional world of the eating disordered, traumatized client poses particular challenges to professionals. This challenge is experienced directly through the therapeutic relationship. This workshop presents a model of treatment that provides a guide for organizing the therapeutic relationship which assists the client to manage difficult emotional experiences.
The client with an eating disorder often uses food as a communication tool. The clinician must sort through the behaviors to decode the silent message. Food experientials are often necessary to break through deep-seated eating patterns. Come and experience food from your client’s perspective with this psychoeducational and experiential workshop.
This presentation will inform how to utilize Exposure Therapy in the treatment of Anorexia in an outpatient setting. The presentation will describe theory, research, and case presentations to illustrate the implementation of relevant concepts in practice and compare and contrast their use in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Binge eaters differ from overeaters because they do not have control over their behavior. It is not simply overindulging, or an addiction problem, but binge eaters are compelled to overeat. This presentation will explore many of the "weight loss" medications that are on the market, most of which are ineffective.
Improvement in nutritional status is cornerstone in the treatment of any eating disorder. This presentation will review the rationale for inclusion of nutrition therapy in the treatment process, provide insight into evidence-based nutrition care and suggest direction for needed future research to further define and improve nutrition intervention for ED.
Emotions are the barometer of credibility and authenticity. Some have locked a whole set of emotions into a closet, to be forgotten by themselves, which often form a mob of feelings demanding attention. Psychodrama is a useful tool in the healing of emotions and finding new possibilities beyond the trauma.
Perhaps no illness is more indicative of the need for dual medical and mental health treatment than eating disorders. The potential for true physiological problems with emotional overlay makes diagnosis and treatment particularly challenging. Physical symptoms may be true manifestations of physical illness, psychosomatic symptoms or other associated mental illness.
Role of experiential avoidance(EA) as the number one maintaining factor for eating disorders. EA is the reluctance or unwillingness to remain in contact with mental events, such as thoughts and feelings,and taking measures to alter the form or frequency of those events or the contexts that give rise to them.
This presentation will address the diagnostic criteria of Binge Eating Disorder, medical considerations, factors contributing to its development, and pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment. Several case studies will be presented. Night Eating Syndrome will also be discussed.
This presentation will discuss the phenomenon of eating disorders among women who are 25 and older. It will review the prevalence rates, clinical presentation, co-morbidities and contributing factors in the development of the eating disorder. Challenges regarding seeking help and treatment options will also be discussed.
Pregnancy is a unique experience for each woman. This presentation will address the conscious and unconscious expectations of pregnancy and motherhood paying specific attention to women who struggle or have dealt with an eating disorder. The significance and curative effects of talking about one's pregnancy experience will be the focus.
Eating disorder behaviors serve physiologic, psychological, and emotional purpose, affecting cognitive processes and emotional regulation, causing metabolic and physical injury. This workshop builds on mindfulness meditations and exploration of embodied cognitions to introduce body based substitute strategies, engaging the client from the “bottom-up".
Hope has been identified as an influential variable in recovery for many mental health disorders, including eating disorders. Clinicians can convey hope through the therapeutic relationship and build hope through therapeutic interventions. This workshop will provide participants with evidence-based and practical techniques for instilling hope in treatment of eating disorders.
This presentation will provide an overview of FBT across levels of care, including how to preserve the role of parents within a treatment team of professionals on an inpatient medical unit, residential treatment center, and a partial hospitalization or intensive outpatient setting. A number of innovative interventions will be discussed.
Inaccurate food allergy myths blur the understanding of the critical differences between food allergies and intolerances. We review evidence based approaches to diagnosing and managing food allergies/intolerances, and how to best approach an eating disorder patient who reports food aversions or previously diagnosed food allergies that need to be re-explored.
Eating disordered clients often articulate feelings in terms of bodily sensations including, “fat, bloated, and weighed down.” Therapists who intervene using only cognitive and emotional methods miss actual physical sensations. Sensorimotor Psychotherapy(SP) invites the body into treatment. This workshop provides SP basics and experiential exercises for immediate use with clients.
The diagnosis of an eating disorder can be challenging due to the complexity of medical and psychological symptoms. A multidisciplinary panel will decode case studies that present with a “zebra diagnosis” and offer explanations as to what makes ED patients clinically and ethically complex.
Presenters will discuss the application of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) in the treatment of eating disorders and present strategies for the integration of ACT principles with traditional CBT. Comparisons and contrasts will be drawn between ACT and CBT. Strategies for practitioner self-care, consistent with values-based living, will be identified.
Neuroscience is the new buzz word in the world of psychotherapy, yet how does one distinguish between true innovation and mere speculation? Bringing years of experience, a wealth of knowledge, and engaging presence Carolyn Costin and Joan Borysenko will share their insights on the integration of science, psychotherapy and spirituality.
ED clients experience a threat to sense of self - relinquishing the lifeline for tough times. The critter brain fires off survival signals, compelling behaviors, because that feels better (safer) than what came before. Learn to decode, re-pattern, and help clients Self-Discover new strategies, uniquely theirs, transforming behaviors, beliefs and identities.
This workshop will review the guiding principles behind integrated, evidence-based treatments that can be adapted for ED patients with co-occurring SUD, including: 1) Motivational Interventions; 2) Family therapy; 3) Cognitive behavioral therapy; 4) Mindfulness based approaches, e.g., DBT, ACT, and; 5) Self-help and support group interventions.
Ethical Issues in Eating Disorder Treatment will provide a practical approach to common ethical issues across disciplines, including confidentiality, informed consent, documentation requirements, use of technology, and termination of treatment. Current ethical codes will be reviewed from a variety of disciplines. Relevant law will be explored as well.
This powerful documentary about dance/movement therapy and drama therapy features the wisdom and expertise of the workshop leaders. Infused with inspiration and hope, the gripping vignettes demonstrate the depths to which we must take our clients to heal. Presenters will be available for questions following the film screening.
The desire to have children can be a motivating factor in eating disorder recovery, yet pregnancy and the postpartum period can mirror difficulties experienced in early recovery. This presentation will explore risk factors for relapse, postpartum depression, body image distress, as well as recovery hope for new and expectant mothers.
Two experienced professionals in the field of eating disorders discuss new strategies for treating those cases we all feel uncomfortable with. To increase effectiveness with challenging cases, Bishop and Brennan will introduce innovative concepts from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Relational Frame Theory (RFT) and Cognitive Remediation Therapy (CRT).
In working with individuals with complex eating disorders who have shown minimal symptom improvement despite significant efforts, it behooves clinicians to re-conceptualize the definition of progress. The presenters offer an alternative definition based on relational and developmental markers. Case examples are discussed and implications of this approach are explored.
This presentation will provide an overview of the physiological factors that contribute to the increased risk of suicide in patients with eating disorders. Topics discussed will include multiple biological risk factors, including antidepressant medications and nutritional deficiencies in essential nutrients including essential fatty acids, lithium, and vitamin B12.
This presentation explores how neuroscience can help clinicians have a deeper understanding of those they treat. Learning the history of how eating disorders have been diagnosed and theories of how neuroarchitecture could inform behavior and response to treatment are vital pieces of information to help close the research-practice gap.
This presentation will discuss the growing clinical and laboratory animal evidence regarding the concept of food addiction. Additional topics to be discussed include the psychometric tools designed to assess the presence of addiction-like behaviors regarding food as well as potential avenues for treatment.
Physical activity/exercise is often extolled for its physical and psychological health benefits. Nevertheless, unhealthy physical activity is common among eating disorder patients. If patients have inappropriate/unhealthy exercise as their symptom complex, should it be treated? Contrary to "conventional wisdom", literature on exercise suggests physical activity is safe and beneficial.
This workshop will provide the opportunity for clinicians to experience mindfulness meditations and practices which reduce stress and increase compassion for self and others. The theory of mindfulness will be presented and research on the benefits for clinicians and their clients will be discussed. Most appropriate for advanced clinicians.
Clients struggling with eating disorder behaviors from Binge Eating Disorder (BED) to Anorexia Nervosa (AN) benefit from extensive nutrition therapy. Using traditional meal plans has been the hallmark of nutrition therapy. Bridging meal planning with mindfulness techniques can help clients move forward in recovery, providing autonomy and self-efficacy.
This experiential workshop explores those unique transcendent moments in the treatment of eating disordered clients, the life changing “Ta Das” experienced by both client and clinician. Although we cannot insert transcendence into a treatment plan, clinicians can learn how to create situations that deliver “pregnant possibilities” and biopsychospiritual transformation.
Eating disorder treatment is complex and difficult. When trauma and self-harm are present, treatment often becomes engaged in working with a patient's more insidious processes such as dissociation, intense self-loathing, anger and hatred. This workshop describes an approach for working with the complex symptoms these patients present.
This workshop presents an overview of neuroscience research related to eating disorder onset, maintenance, and recovery, and provides new understandings about strategies and skills that can be used to make constructive use of temperament to promote recovery. Presenters will share clinical and personal experiences of utilizing these traits in recovery.
Managing the literal and figurative "poo" in our lives, as clinicians, is of critical importance in order to maintain our effectiveness. The challenge of working with any client is not getting caught up in their pathology. As a clinician, the best defense is ongoing self awareness/examination of "our stuff".
“The Role of Family Therapy and Education in the Treatment of Eating Disorders” will highlight the novel treatments and educational formats for families that have produced some of the most interesting advances over the last decade in the field of eating disorders.
Small children aged 7 to 12 get anorexia nervosa, too. They can present with the adult form of the disease (e.g. body image concerns and distortions) or just with food refusal and behaviors that sabotage all attempts to re-feed them. The new DSM-5 recognizes these age-related differences, do you?
Currently, psychopharmacologic treatments for eating disorders require as much art as science. In this workshop, the science and art of managing medication use in patients with eating disorders will be presented, including review of the evidence base and discussion of strategies for addressing the pharmacologic opportunities in eating disorders.
By the time families of someone with an eating disorder find their way to treatment professionals, they often are feeling scared, exasperated, and powerless. Teaching families the communication technique of validation gives them an important tool to reconnect with their loved one and disentangle themselves from fruitless power struggles.
Though eating disorders occur throughout life cycles, they generally begin during the period of rapid brain changes during adolescence. Understanding how brains respond to therapy, nutrition and medication can be complicated with a paucity of devoted research to this subject. This session explores challenges and opportunities present in developing brains.
Emmett Bishop and Bonnie Brennan will take a closer look at affect regulation in the treatment of eating disorders. Understanding and using strategies to target emotion dysregulation will be shared using the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy model. Experiential exercises and skills for all levels of care will be included.
This presentation will conceptualize BED as a neurobehavioral disorder, and will apply behavioral therapies that have long been used to treat obsessive compulsive spectrum disorders, to this unique population. A behavioral approach to BED treatment using exposure therapy, habit reversal training, and mindfulness will be demonstrated using case examples.
Incorporating creative techniques into therapeutic process can stimulate motivation for clients to actively participate in their recovery. Attendees will acquire experiential skills, based primarily on the principles of rhythmic synchrony, kinesthetic awareness and kinesthetic empathy, to enhance clients’ engagement with their authentic self. Teaching methods will be didactic and experiential
Clients with eating disorders are at high risk for suicide. Clinicians who treat eating disorders require repeated, high-level training in suicide assessment and intervention to achieve competence in this area. This dynamic didactic/experiential workshop will provide the latest advances in best-practice interventions for suicidality in eating disorder clients.
Food is the foundational substrate of the human body and serves as the primary method of communication for emotional distress among individuals with Eating Disorders. This session will examine essential nutritional truths that enhance physiological and emotional restoration, while offering practical tools to break the dysfunctional attachment to food.
Traditionally parents were not involved in their child’s eating disorder treatment. Recent research on Family-Based Treatment for Eating Disorders has demonstrated that parents can be a powerful support in recovery. In this workshop a therapist, a dietitian, and a parent will discuss strategies for engaging and collaborating with families.
Somatic symptoms in eating disorders often leave providers anxious and stuck, and can make nutritional rehabilitation and utilization of evidenced-based treatment difficult. Presenters will offer a model and treatment approach, strategies for working with medical providers and managing impact on patient milieu, and considerations of cultural and trauma-related factors.
Music Therapy fosters self expression, increases self awareness and insight, decreases anxiety levels, elevates mood, and increases motivation. This presentation offers experiential learning opportunities for clinicians, insight into current music therapy research and practices, and demonstrates why music therapy is an essential component to treatment for your facility or practice.
Pathological Ambivalence and its common forms will be described and strategies for resolving ambivalence to improve therapeutic outcome will be taught. Also presented will be strategies for assessing scripts and avoiding common pitfalls such as prematurely discounting client beliefs, and unknowingly participating in, or becoming the target of, the projections.
This workshop examines the psychological complexity of eating disorders and explores the benefits of a cutting edge transdiagnostic treatment that emphasizes emotional exposure. Though experiential demonstration this workshop will apply concepts from David Barlow’s Unified Protocol for the Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders to the treatment of complex eating disorders.
Clinicians in the field of eating disorders know our clients are complex, and the healing journey is challenging and long. What we often forget is the impact it has on us emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. This workshop is for you, time to take inventory, readjust, and renew your passion!
The presentation uses current brain and hormone research to gain a deeper understanding of the neurobiological aspects of Anorexia Nervosa. With that understanding, the presenter connects the bipolar hierarchy of the Expressive Therapies Continuum to the renewed functions of the brain through the refeeding process as a treatment model.
Orthorexia Comes of Age: Past, Present and Future of the Most Controversial Eating Disorder
This presentation will explain the fine print of Mental Health Parity Laws (including the Final Rules), and guide clinicians in addressing parity violations/insurance denials. In addition, this presentation will clarify the relationship between MHPAEA and the ACA, including how to best advocate for patients under the most recent legal updates.
Individuals with eating disorders are dissociated from their bodies, internal needs, and relational desires. This experiential presentation will demonstrate how to use metaphor and physical sensation to bring together cognitive (psyche) and somatic (body) processes to help clients identify relational needs, strengthen boundaries, and develop communication skills essential for recovery. This workshop will provide the theoretical underpinnings that support the use of right brain approaches in the treatment of eating disorders. As an experiential presentation it will demonstrate the use metaphor and sensation to bring together cognitive (psyche) and somatic (body) processes in order to help clients identify and track implicit relational needs, establish and set boundaries in an embodied way, and develop communication skills essential for recovery.
This presentation will focus on genetic evidence, brain imaging, neurological similarities. cross addiction, DSM-V, and animal studies to elucidate whether or not food is addictive. The emphasis will be on how to design therapeutic guidelines that will not only stop the binge eating, but also demonstrate long term relapse prevention.
Polyvagal Theory explains how ingestive behaviors, similar to social behaviors, regulate autonomic state. From a Polyvagal perspective ingestive behaviors may supplement or replace social behavior as a strategy to regulate state and eating disorders could be viewed as a dependence on ingestive (and not social) behaviors to regulate state.
Age does not immunize women from eating disorders. More women at midlife and beyond are seeking treatment and its time we talk about it. Ibbits Newhall assumes the role of talk-show host, interviewing leading voices in the field to bring these invisible women out of the shadows.
While the overwhelming bias in western psychotherapy has been taught as a top-down primarily left-brain model of conscious cognition (verbal insights, interpretations, etc.) neuroscience is increasingly inspiring us as clinicians to add more bottom-up approaches to our work (affective, experiential, & embodied) that can access early, even pre-verbal material.
Panel discussion will present cases that exemplify a variety of challenges among the ED spectrum. Causing frustration and uncertainty, they also illustrate multiple therapeutic approaches to the physical, emotional, and social parameters of this illness. Walk away with renewed confidence, resilience, and perspective to embrace the complexity of best practice.