Practically Speaking: Behind the Episode Be PreparED to Treat Eating Disorders
Ok, I admit it. I am not an eating disorders therapist. That is not my specialty. I am grateful that there are therapists who specialize and are expert in treating eating disorders. I’m just not one of them. And that’s ok! In preparing for our discussion with Dr. Deborah Glasofer, our guest on this week’s episode of Practical For Your Practice, I found myself reflecting on the reasons that perhaps I have hesitated to engage with treating eating disorders. Perhaps some of these are familiar to some of our listeners, while perhaps other listeners are passionate about treating these disorders.
Click here to listen to the episode! “Be PreparED to Treat Eating Disorders”
First, the range of disorders captured under the category of eating disorders is wide and varied. For me, the term “eating disorders” often feels like shorthand for anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. But as Dr. Glasofer explains, “The most common eating disorder is actually neither anorexia nervosa nor bulimia nervosa, but binge-eating disorder, and binge-eating disorder is really characterized by having a frequent experience of feeling out of control when eating a really large amount of food and having that be distressing.”
Second, the intricate nature of eating disorders poses a significant challenge. These disorders often intertwine with complex psychological, emotional, and physical issues, making the therapeutic process demanding. It's not that I (or therapists like me) shy away from complexity. After all, I find it thrilling to confront complex presentations and work with delightfully complicated humans. But as my training and experience has focused on other clinical presentations, I realize that I carry concerns about my ability to effectively address the multifaceted nature of eating disorders, which may involve issues such as body image distortion, perfectionism, and underlying trauma.
Third, the medical implications associated with eating disorders add another layer of complexity. Perhaps I (and other therapists like me) feel uneasy about treating individuals with eating disorders due to the potential physical health risks involved, such as malnutrition, electrolyte imbalances, and other medical complications. Collaborating with medical professionals becomes crucial in such cases, and it could be difficult to engage appropriately in clinics or contexts that lack the necessary interdisciplinary support.
Moreover, the resistance often encountered in treating eating disorders can be emotionally taxing. Clients with eating disorders may exhibit significant resistance to change, and breaking through this resistance requires patience, empathy, and persistence. Perhaps the fear of burnout or frustration may deter me from taking on these cases, especially when I feel like I am not adequately prepared for the potential challenges.
It should surprise no one that it is all of the above. Treating eating disorders was not a focus of my training, has not been part of my clinical experience, and I simply wouldn’t know where to start, what to do, what questions to ask, and where to get adequate support and consultation. And yet, it is difficult to ignore the growing numbers of clients presenting with eating disorders concerns, both within and without the Department of Defense. Mental health providers everywhere are seeing clients with disordered eating–and many of us are either missing it because we don’t know the right questions to ask, or we may not feel adequately prepared to speak intelligently about the topic with our clients.
If you’re like me, this episode of Practical for Your Practice is a must-listen! Join Dr. Jenna Ermold and I as Dr Glasofer describes the range of eating disorders and a newly developed modular, on-demand, online training program, PreparED, to help me and providers like me develop skill and comfort in working with this population.
Click here to listen to the episode! “Be PreparED to Treat Eating Disorders”
If you have a question or topic you want to suggest for a future episode, feel free to drop us a voice-mail message at https://www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p.
The opinions in CDP Staff Perspective blogs are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science or the Department of Defense.
Kevin Holloway, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist working as Director of Online Training, Technology and Telehealth at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
Ok, I admit it. I am not an eating disorders therapist. That is not my specialty. I am grateful that there are therapists who specialize and are expert in treating eating disorders. I’m just not one of them. And that’s ok! In preparing for our discussion with Dr. Deborah Glasofer, our guest on this week’s episode of Practical For Your Practice, I found myself reflecting on the reasons that perhaps I have hesitated to engage with treating eating disorders. Perhaps some of these are familiar to some of our listeners, while perhaps other listeners are passionate about treating these disorders.
Click here to listen to the episode! “Be PreparED to Treat Eating Disorders”
First, the range of disorders captured under the category of eating disorders is wide and varied. For me, the term “eating disorders” often feels like shorthand for anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. But as Dr. Glasofer explains, “The most common eating disorder is actually neither anorexia nervosa nor bulimia nervosa, but binge-eating disorder, and binge-eating disorder is really characterized by having a frequent experience of feeling out of control when eating a really large amount of food and having that be distressing.”
Second, the intricate nature of eating disorders poses a significant challenge. These disorders often intertwine with complex psychological, emotional, and physical issues, making the therapeutic process demanding. It's not that I (or therapists like me) shy away from complexity. After all, I find it thrilling to confront complex presentations and work with delightfully complicated humans. But as my training and experience has focused on other clinical presentations, I realize that I carry concerns about my ability to effectively address the multifaceted nature of eating disorders, which may involve issues such as body image distortion, perfectionism, and underlying trauma.
Third, the medical implications associated with eating disorders add another layer of complexity. Perhaps I (and other therapists like me) feel uneasy about treating individuals with eating disorders due to the potential physical health risks involved, such as malnutrition, electrolyte imbalances, and other medical complications. Collaborating with medical professionals becomes crucial in such cases, and it could be difficult to engage appropriately in clinics or contexts that lack the necessary interdisciplinary support.
Moreover, the resistance often encountered in treating eating disorders can be emotionally taxing. Clients with eating disorders may exhibit significant resistance to change, and breaking through this resistance requires patience, empathy, and persistence. Perhaps the fear of burnout or frustration may deter me from taking on these cases, especially when I feel like I am not adequately prepared for the potential challenges.
It should surprise no one that it is all of the above. Treating eating disorders was not a focus of my training, has not been part of my clinical experience, and I simply wouldn’t know where to start, what to do, what questions to ask, and where to get adequate support and consultation. And yet, it is difficult to ignore the growing numbers of clients presenting with eating disorders concerns, both within and without the Department of Defense. Mental health providers everywhere are seeing clients with disordered eating–and many of us are either missing it because we don’t know the right questions to ask, or we may not feel adequately prepared to speak intelligently about the topic with our clients.
If you’re like me, this episode of Practical for Your Practice is a must-listen! Join Dr. Jenna Ermold and I as Dr Glasofer describes the range of eating disorders and a newly developed modular, on-demand, online training program, PreparED, to help me and providers like me develop skill and comfort in working with this population.
Click here to listen to the episode! “Be PreparED to Treat Eating Disorders”
If you have a question or topic you want to suggest for a future episode, feel free to drop us a voice-mail message at https://www.speakpipe.com/cdpp4p.
The opinions in CDP Staff Perspective blogs are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science or the Department of Defense.
Kevin Holloway, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist working as Director of Online Training, Technology and Telehealth at the Center for Deployment Psychology (CDP) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.