This series is designed to provide in-depth education for dietitians treating eating disorders on how to support individuals and families impacted by an adolescent’s eating disorder.
Working with Adolescents and Their Families in ED Treatment
16 CE Credits for Registered Dietitians – Activity type: Self Study 740
This course is available for purchase — no membership necessary. Please click on the buttons below for details.
Please note: CE Credits associated with this course are available through 08/25/2022.
*** Students who enroll in the existing “V 1.0” course will receive $50 off the “V 2.0” course, which will be released in fall 2022. The courses will have some overlapping material, but “V 2.0” will offer a fresh, updated take on the most recent advancements and standards for how RDNs can work with adolescents and families using an FBT-Informed treatment approach.
“I highly recommend this program for any RD who works with EDs, especially those who work with adolescents. As an ED RD transitioning from working in higher levels of care to outpatient, this information is extremely helpful to navigate treatment in a less structured setting. The information is also saturated with evidence-based research which increases my confidence when working with this population.”
~ Laura Henson, RD, LDN

SERIES AT A GLANCE
Week 1:
Introduction to Dietetic Treatment of Children and Adolescents with Eating Disorders using Family-Based Treatment (FBT) by Marcia Herrin, EdD, MPH, RDN, LD, FAED
Week 2:
Family Based Treatment In-Depth. Part 1 – Intro to FBT Tenets & Therapeutic Underpinnings by Bryan Lian, RDN, CEDRD-S and Anna Oliver, RDN (90 min)
Week 3:
Family Based Treatment In- Depth. Part 2 – Intro to FBT Phases & Registered Dietitian Advocacy by Bryan Lian, RDN, CEDRD-S and Anna Oliver, RDN (90 min)
Week 4:
Building an Unbiased and Affirming Clinical Skill Set for Treating Adolescent Eating Disorders by Rebecca DeHamer, MS, RD
Week 5:
Strategies for Nutritional Rehabilitation in Child and Adolescent Patients with Eating Disorders: Helping families manage food issues at home by Wendy Sterling, MS, RD, CEDRD-S, CSSD; Casey Crosbie, RD, CSSD; and Marcia Herrin, EdD, MPH, RDN, LD, FAED
Week 6:
Counseling the Developing Client: Building Body Confidence and Resilience in Teens by Anna Lutz, MPH, RD/LDN, CEDRD-S
Week 7:
When the Going Gets Rough : Concepts and knowledge to help you navigate working with separated or divorced parents, substance abuse issues, an “older than 18” child, and more by Therese Waterhous, PhD, RDN, CEDRD-S and FAED
“FBT is a positive, forward-thinking approach, seeking to find solutions and strategies.”
Anna Oliver
FBT Is…
A paradigm shift: Parents and caregivers are part of the solution, rather than stigmatized as the cause of adolescent ED
A solution: leverages family wisdom to pave the way towards recovery, with essential techniques and skills for externalizing the illness, aligning against the ED, and focusing on the task of re-nourishment.
A team effort: Several professional consensus statements advocate for multidisciplinary treatment for ED, yet FBT, the best-supported treatment modality for adolescent ED, leaves out a golden-opportunity. RDs are valuable, as nutrition coaches/therapists; more accessible, as first-responders; and are evidence-based, as Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) providers.
Consider your role as an RD to an adolescent with an eating disorder:
How can you best support parents to stand up to their child’s eating disorder?
Feel more effective and improve your client’s recovery by working directly with parents when a teen is too occupied in their eating disorder or too ill to work with you on their own.
Know what you can do to help parents “be in charge of the food” when it best supports their teen.
Gain practical skills and strategies to use in session with adolescent clients to help them build resilience and overcome their eating disorder thoughts.
Understand when and why FBT is a great recommendation. Understand when and why it may not be the best route.
You have an incredible gift as a dietitian – you can help a teen recover and get back on a path to finding a life that is meaningful, connected, and joyful. Dietitians have a unique skillset and the ability to support teens and families with Family Based Treatment-Infused Nutrition Counseling.
Please review the recommendations below in order to get the most out of this program:
- This is a Level II training – which assumes you, the attendee, are informed on eating disorder pathology, assessment, diagnosis, and treatment.
- We recommend you have had at least 2 years of experience working as a registered dietitian treating eating disorders although it is not required.
- This is not an introduction to or an overview of how to treat eating disorders. It provides a specific focus on adolescent treatment and recovery.
Register