101692: Experiential Strategies for Working with Adolescents with Eating Disorders

About the Course:

Webinar from the 2009 International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals Symposium.
Note: For this course there is a small additional fee to obtain the webinar. Please see the “Get Course Materials” link in the right sidebar for details.

Teenagers with eating disorders represent one of the keenest treatment challenges. This workshop will focus on the use of multiple strategies to treat these illnesses. The workshop will begin with an overview of what we have learned about the adolescent brain and how this affects their readiness for treatment. Subsequent presentations will discuss experimental use of experiential interventions designed to access the unique developmental challenges of the adolescent brain.

Content Outline:
This workshop will begin with an overview of course of illness and outcome data related to teenagers with Anorexia Nervoa and Bulimia. Since this data indicates that teenagers with eating disorders have a high relapse rate, we will offer some preliminary explanations for these findings. We will explore both psychological and neurodevelopmental explanations. Following this introduction, four highly experienced clinicians will present a number of experiential interventions that they have found to be effective. Sufficient time will be allocated for extensive discussion of the challenges of working with this patient population.

Authors

Craig L. Johnson, PhD (presenter); Ovidio Bermudez, MD (presenter)

About the Authors:

Dr. Johnson has been a leader in the field of Eating Disorders for over 30 years. He is Director of the Eating Disorders Program at Laureate Psychiatric Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma Medical School and formerly held faculty appointments at Yale, University of Chicago and Northwestern University Medical Schools. He was the Founding Editor of the International Journal of Eating Disorders and a founding member of the Academy for Eating Disorders and the Eating Disorders Research Society. He is also Past President of the National Eating Disorders Association. Dr. Johnson has authored three books, over 70 scientific articles and has been the recipient of several distinguished contribution awards.

Ovidio Bermudez, MD is the Medical Director of the Eating Disorders Program at Laureate. He holds academic appointments as Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and as Adjunct Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Nursing at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Nursing. He is Board certified in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Dr. Bermudez is a Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders, the Society for Adolescent Medicine, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Eating Disorders Coalition of Tennessee (EDCT) which he co-founded. He holds various leadership positions in the Academy for Eating Disorders. Dr. Bermudez has lectured nationally and internationally on eating disorders and has been recognized for his dedication and advocacy on behalf of sufferers and families.

Recommended For:

This course is recommended for health care professionals, especially psychologists, therapists, and counselors who seek to update their research knowledge and competency in treating patients with eating disorders, increase and acquire new skills, learn new intervention strategies, and obtain continuing education credits. It is appropriate for professionals at all levels of knowledge.

Course Objectives:

1. Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to recognize and utilize the current data related to adolescent cognitive development in practice.

2. Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to demonstrate and discuss experiential techniques to circumvent the cognitive challenges faced by adolescents.

3. Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to interpret and evaluate current outcome and course of illness data.