The Body Project is a body acceptance and eating disorder prevention program backed by two decades of research and evaluation data. The Body Project gives high school and college-aged girls the tools and skills to confront unrealistic beauty ideals and engages them in the development of healthy body image.

NEDA invites registered conference attendees (ages 18+) to sign up for a free one-day Body Project training. At the completion of the training attendees will be qualified to facilitate The Body Project in their communities. Please note that this training will qualify you to facilitate sessions of the Body Project and will not qualify you to train others in how to facilitate the Body Project.

The training is currently full and no additional registrations will be accepted. If you would like to be added to the waitlist, or would like to learn more about Friday and Saturday facilitator training sessions, please email by August 15th. Please include a brief paragraph explaining how you will be able to utilize the program. Priority will be given to those with the capability to facilitate Body Project sessions.

This orientation meeting provides new attendees with an opportunity to learn what to expect from the NEDA Conference, meet with fellow first-time attendees, hear tips from on maximizing your conference attendance, and ask questions of the NEDA staff and returning attendees.

Enhance your conference experience by attending the NEDA Buddy Meeting! Whether you signed up in advance or you’re interested in joining a buddy group onsite, attend this meeting to learn more. You’ll meet your NEDA Buddies and find out how the NEDA Buddy program can help you stay connected with other attendees during the conference. There are NEDA Buddy meetings every morning during breakfast, and plenty of opportunities to check in with your NEDA Buddies during breaks and evening socials.

Thank you to Silver Hill Hospital for generously sponsoring the NEDA Conference Buddy Program.

This introductory workshop is designed for both families and professionals to gain a foundational understanding of eating disorders, which will be expanded upon in each of the general and breakout sessions throughout the conference. We will discuss the emotional, behavioral and physical components that contribute to the development and progression of eating disorders, as well as the potential health impacts. The discussion will provide a broad overview of treatment options and levels of care.

Whether you are a first-time attendee or an experienced NEDA conference-goer, you’ll enjoy joining your fellow conference attendees for conversation, beverages and appetizers. The Conference Committee, Host Committee, PFN Steering Committee, and the NEDA Board and staff will be there to welcome you! The Welcome Social is open to all conference attendees, as well as non-registered guests with pre-paid tickets.

Enjoy a relaxing meal and meet and mingle with your fellow conference attendees! Ticket price includes appetizer, entrée and dessert at Chuck’s: A Kerry Simon Kitchen, 224 N Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60601. (ADVANCE TICKET PURCHASE REQUIRED.)

Thank you to our event sponsor Timberline Knolls.

This panel discussion will provide broad descriptions of some evidence based eating disorder treatment modalities. Clinicians will review each modality (i.e., Family Based Treatment [FBT], Cognitive Behavioral Therapy [CBT], Dialectical Behavioral Therapy [DBT], psychopharmacology [medications]), each illustrated by a case study. Co-occurring disorders (e.g., generalized anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, trauma, depression, bipolar disorder, substance use, diabetes) will be discussed as part of the complexity of the cases. The importance of selecting treatments based upon individual needs will be emphasized, and suggestions will be made by the clinicians as to factors to consider. This panel discussion will offer a multiplicity of perspectives from the clinicians, and audience discussion and questions will be encouraged. Audience members will be given a handout at the end of the presentation that summarizes all of the treatment modalities.

Share your story! In this interactive workshop, award-winning singer-songwriter and interdisciplinary artist Mindy Dillard will guide participants through a series of creative writing prompts and exercises. Participants will be invited to explore their connection to food and body image in a safe space through writing. Participants will be encouraged to write about moments of transformation in their life around food and body image. A variety of poetry and prose structures will be explored such as haikus, list-making and songs. Participants will be invited to share what they’ve written at the end of the session. All participants will also be invited to take part in creating an art installation that will be made up of many post-it notes containing positive messages of hope for recovery, healthy body image and healing. 

Interested in learning more about NEDA’s programs? Want to find out how you can make a difference in the fight against eating disorders? Join us for this engaging session highlighting NEDA’s programs and volunteers, including STAR (Solutions Through Advocacy and Reform); NEDA Walks; Proud2BMe; and NEDA Navigators. This comprehensive session offers information on how to get involved in whichever way works for you: learn how to lobby for legislative reform; raise awareness and funds in your community; become a body-positive youth advocate; or join a peer support network that provides encouragement and guidance through the journey to recovery. NEDA staff will be on hand to answer any questions and to provide more information about getting involved.

Participants will learn innovative techniques to overcome binge eating based on the latest empirical research on self-regulation and willpower. Strategies to help clients normalize eating and establish boundaries with food and others will be discussed (including dialectical behavior therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, guided imagery, and journaling). A body image program specifically designed for binge eating will be described.

College counseling centers provide a unique and challenging setting in which to provide mental health treatment, particularly when addressing disordered eating and eating disorders. This roundtable aims to discuss those challenges, discuss what has worked across different college counseling centers, and explore ways we can identify, prevent, and treat disordered eating on-campus. Of particular note, OSFED tends to be seen, assessed, and treated most commonly on campus though is not often discussed in the research. This roundtable additionally aims to discuss the treatment of individuals with OSFED in a college counseling setting.

It isn’t fair that in the middle of dealing with a health crisis, we have to fight bureaucracy to get an insurance company to authorize treatment. Fortunately, over the last two years a number of updates to mental health parity laws and regulations have gone into effect providing us with expanded rights and new ways to compel insurance companies to do what is required. In this session we will review those laws and regulations, and demonstrate how to leverage them to obtain the level of care and duration of treatment that you need. Discussion will include the Patient’s Bill of Rights, the Affordable Care Act, the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. And you will walk away with sample scripts and verbiage to use in talking and corresponding with an insurance company.

As anyone familiar with eating disorders knows, these mental health diagnoses are commonly exacerbated by societal messages about thinness. Being in the prenatal or postpartum phase of life does not safeguard women from these messages. Those who are at-risk will likely have to work to maintain their mental and physical health as well as the physical health of their baby. This presentation grants attendees the ability to reflect on the experience of pregnant and postpartum women as they watch interviews of those who have worked on their recovery during this unique time in their lives. To inspire attendees to do the same, a survivor-turned-therapist will speak from her personal experience of pregnancy. After medical complications are addressed by an ObGyn, another therapist with over 10 years experience will give guidance to those supporting pregnant loved ones.

Teenagers can be powerful and influential players in in the work of transforming cultural attitudes and beliefs about body size, health, and weight. This presentation gives an overview of the power that exists when adults partner with young people to create revolution. When teens transform their own relationship with their bodies, they can become activists and change their peer culture. Bringing together Health At Every Size ® and Positive Youth Development, we will explore how body image activism can be both a healing and prevention tool for teens. When teens are deeply listened to and heard, they learn to use their voice and find their power.

The co-occurrence of eating disorders and anxiety is not just diagnostic overlap. It represents a significant, shared underlying diathesis, which predisposition or vulnerability can have multiple phenotypic manifestations. This overlap is evident in the fact that 1) anxiety symptoms almost always precede eating disorder symptoms, 2) that anxiety disorders are the most common comorbid diagnoses present in eating disorders, and 3) that anxiety symptoms remain long after weight restoration and eating disorder symptoms have remitted. Our understanding of the neurobiology and genetics of Eating Disorders and Anxiety further support a  transdiagnostic approach to their conceptualization and treatment. One such application is the use of Exposure and Response Prevention, an approach based in classical conditioning and learning theory that is predicated upon learning through experience that feared consequences do not occur. Using graded exposures to feared stimuli, exposures are designed to elicit emotional responses in the moment without allowing compensatory behaviors.  We will present the rationale for using ERP and techniques for developing in vivo and imaginal exposures in eating disorder treatment to help patients confront and habituate to fear in the safety of structured exposures.

The typical anorexia patient is more often than not depicted as female.  While males were previously estimated to represent 5-10% of eating disorder cases, more recent epidemiological data suggests that up to 25% of anorexia patients are male.  This shift, along with recent changes in diagnostic criteria, is causing professionals to rethink treatment paradigms to meet an increasingly diverse patient population.  Research on parent caregivers of boys with anorexia has illuminated the unique challenges boys face throughout the journey of diagnosis and treatment.  This roundtable discussion will examine boys' hurdles to diagnosis and gender-specific treatment challenges, and explore how clinicians can address gender-specific issues that parent caregivers of boys bring to the treatment experience.

During the treatment and recovery process, the phrase “meal plan” is often met with a cringe. Many individuals are hesitant to follow a meal plan once outside of the treatment setting or tempted to ditch their meal plan prematurely. Yet, the seemingly farfetched concept of pure intuitive eating can be both alluring and intimidating. This presentation aims to educate participants on the physical and psychological indicators of transitioning from a highly structured meal plan towards a more hunger driven, intuitive approach. Meal structuring will be presented on a continuum where individuals can move in either direction contingent on the amount of support that is needed at any given moment. We aim to redefine meal plans as a long-term, sustainable tool that can evolve just as the individual does during the recovery process. Skills for practicing flexibility in meal planning and employing intuitive eating strategies will be presented. Individuals will explore what level of structure and type of meal planning works best for their lifestyle and recovery.

2016 marks the 25th anniversary of the initial groundbreaking exploration of the reciprocal relationships between the longings that fathers and daughters have for a more intimate emotional connection and the disruptive, debilitating effects of eating disorders. And yet, 25 years later, there are few articles and discussions devoted to the full impact of eating disorders on the father/daughter relationship, let alone how to best utilize fathers, stepfathers, and grandfathers in the processes of treatment, recovery, and prevention. Consequently, men who are not therapists remain an underutilized resource. This panel includes clinicians who have been on both the professional and the personal sides of the eating disorder battle, a father who has been active in the field, and a researcher engaged in preventing eating disorders.  The discussion seeks to (1) elucidate factors (e.g., gender roles and experiences) that often preclude fathers from understanding and nurturing their daughters’ emotional needs, psychosocial development, and bodily experiences; and (2) articulate ways to harness the power of the father/daughter relationship to promote recovery and, in the process, a greater degree of emotional intimacy when possible.

The prevalence of eating disorders is elevated on college campuses, yet less than 20% of students who screen positive for an eating disorder report receiving treatment. We have developed an innovative method to provide early identification and intervention for eating disorders on college campuses. The digital Healthy Body Image (HBI) Program uses population-based screening and management to identify individuals at low risk for, high risk for, or with an eating disorder, and offers tailored Internet-based interventions or clinical referrals for in-person care to address students’ risk or symptom profiles. In this workshop, we will present two ongoing, complementary university-wide initiatives implementing HBI: a statewide initiative (13 colleges targeted) and a national randomized controlled trial (28 colleges targeted). Building on our theoretical model and pilot testing, we will summarize the exploration stage that facilitated implementation, factors associated with the adoption, preparation, and implementation of HBI, and plans for sustainment. We will conclude by offering recommendations for long-term implementation and summarizing next steps for national and international dissemination, in line with our overall goal to reduce the incidence and prevalence of eating disorders.

The term “culturally sensitive” or “cultural competence” has increased in relevance in the mental health field given the growth of diverse populations in the United States. However, the role that cultures play in the illness development, presentation and how they should be integrated into the treatment process is not totally understandable. Culture, context, and language are essential considerations for culturally competent care. Historically eating disorders were conceptualized as issues that primarily affected a particular group of people: particularly affluent, heterosexual, able-bodied, high-achieving, white female adolescents. During the last 20 years, however, there has been significant evidence in both the academic literature and popular news challenging this notion. With this acknowledgement of diversity in prevalence and presentation of disordered eating behaviors comes a need for understanding the etiology, course, treatment and specific needs of people who self-define as being members of diverse groups who also have eating disorders. The goal of this clinical session is to heighten awareness about the impact of culture for clients and patients who present with disordered eating patterns and thus influencing the course of treatment.

Many clients leave therapy before they complete a full course of treatment. Restoring physical, nutritional and psychological stability requires significant behavioral change. As clients normalize their eating, gain weight, interrupt a binge or avoid a purge, they often experience high levels of anxiety and emotional dysregulation. Ambivalence about change can also increase while the willingness to engage in clinical challenges necessary for progress and change wanes. This is a critical phase in the treatment process that requires close attention to motivation and engagement. This roundtable discussion reviews the existing research on treatment dropouts and describes specific therapeutic assignments that help establish an ongoing self-dialogue paradigm that challenges entrenched eating disorder beliefs.

Our nation is obsessed with eating healthy and battling the so-called “obesity epidemic.” But what if our efforts to eat well are actually what is threatening our health? Learn about the significant distress caused by clean eating - an obsession with eating “healthy.” This focus on healthy eating too often is a cover-up for deep perceived flaws that will never be fixed through food. Understand how clean eating can both lead to an eating disorder and threaten on-going eating disorder recovery. Quiz yourself to identify signs of clean eating and receive tools to fight its influence in your life. Upon completion of this training, you will be well-versed in the signs and symptoms of clean eating, understand the relationship of clean eating to eating disorder recovery, evaluate how clean eating impacts your own eating habits, and utilize new tools for challenging clean eating patterns.  

Individuals with eating disorders are at high risk for suicide. Family members and friends often struggle to understand suicidality and how to best support their loved one. Confusion and misunderstanding about suicidality may increase burden on families and friends and exacerbate frustration and despair. This workshop will take attendees on a journey into the suicidal mind, so that they can understand the factors that interplay to place individuals with eating disorders at risk for suicidality. The majority of the presentation will provide hands-on tools for families and friends to better understand and support their suicidal loved one and provide better self-care for themselves when coping with a loved one who is suicidal. Practical tools will be provided that address the following: knowing when your loved one might be suicidal, effectively asking about suicidality, intervening when appropriate or necessary, coping after an attempt, and understanding the unique grief and loss cycle after a suicide. The material in this workshop will be interactive and engaging, so that attendees leave the presentation with a renewed sense of confidence and hope in understanding and treating suicidality and eating disorders.

Previous research has demonstrated the important role that early gastrointestinal events, worry and somatic fear plays in the onset of anorexia nervosa. In response to these findings, the current study sought to develop an intervention targeted at these early risk factors in young school-aged children (5-8 years old). We created a developmentally appropriate acceptance-based interoceptive exposure treatment (the “FBI” Feeling and Body Investigator Study), designed to encourage children with functional abdominal pain and their parents to respond with playfulness and curiosity to their body sensations, rather than with hyper-vigilance and fear. Using playful cartoon characters (e.g., Gassy Gus, Betty the Butterfly), dyads are taught to treat body sensations as clues to a mystery to be investigated. 24 families have participated and their outcome data will be presented.

Although cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) is a promising treatment intervention for patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) in improving cognition, applying CRT in a clinical program may seem like a challenging task.  The goal of this presentation is to provide a brief overview of CRT for AN, discuss how to apply CRT in practical and resourceful formats for your treatment facility or practice, and describe how CRT interventions may help to amplify the response to tools used in traditional AN treatments. Using presenters’ own experiences of conducting a randomized treatment trial of CRT in a hospital setting, this presentation will include (a) a brief overview of the theoretical understanding of CRT as it applies to AN treatment; (b) a review of established CRT protocols; (c) demonstration of, and participant engagement in, a selection of CRT skills and activities; (d) discussion of realistic and efficient ways to implement CRT in clinical settings, including group, short-term, and multiage applications; (e) description of patient and therapist feedback regarding CRT; and (f) discussion of how CRT may have practical effects on a patient’s engagement in cognitive therapy. 

Eating disorders professionals—those who are established in their practices, as well as those new to the field—will benefit from this opportunity to discuss case considerations with established experts in the field. This session offers professionals the opportunity to share challenges, questions, and thoughts regarding working with diverse populations (e.g., gender-diverse, people of color, low socioeconomic status, etc.). Attendees should come prepared with clinical questions, as this session will be a conversational exchange rather than a didactic presentation. Established eating disorders professionals will provide insight and guidance, opening a larger discussion around shared concerns and considerations treating eating disorders in diverse populations.

This presentation will discuss how to achieve parental success and empowerment at mealtime using interventions and strategies that align with Family Based treatment for Anorexia Nervosa. Topics will include parental strategies and interventions, maintaining parental alignment and agreement, as well as examples of mealtime scenarios and how to intervene using role-plays and audio visual material. This presentation is for parents, caregivers and clinicians. Attendees are encouraged to bring questions, barriers, and scenarios to this presentation.

The brain’s impact on eating disorders has not been translated to families and patients in a digestible method. As a result, families and patients do not learn applicable, practical tools to better manage the illness, nor do they gain a better understanding of the brain-basis and context of the tools. This workshop will apply and integrate movement, via yoga and other movements, with newly developing, neurologically based tools for family members and patients. The tools that will be practiced together will draw from neurobiological research teams led by Walter Kaye, MD at University of California, San Diego and Guido Frank, MD at University of Colorado, Denver. These tools offer a variety of therapeutic yoga techniques and are in refined stages of development, having been formed with ongoing feedback from families and patients over the last several years at three treatment programs. An eating disorder yoga specialist will lead movement as neurological systems are explained and explored by a researcher and clinician who has developed the eating disorder tools with treatment teams at two programs.  An adult patient and a family member who have participated in the eating disorder treatment tools will also present their insights and experiences in utilizing the tools on a daily basis.

When the public "blames the victim" for an illness, that illness receives less research dollars, and less funding for treatment and advocacy.  Together we examine the myths and faulty logic that lead to the public blaming the victims and families for eating disorders.  We will assess our own advocacy campaigns for accidental reinforcement of those myths and we will examine successful mental health advocacy campaigns for autism, depression, and schizophrenia that changed public perception on how the disorder originated.

While under-treated, under-reported and still under-researched; preliminary studies, grassroots efforts and countless anecdotes demonstrate that transgender and gender-diverse communities struggle disproportionately with eating disorders and body image issues. This workshop will introduce why and how eating disorders manifest in trans and gender-diverse populations, exploring the intersections of body dysmorphia and gender dysphoria as well as examining structural factors such as historical/personal trauma, lack of access to services and discrimination from healthcare providers. We will discuss how trans men, women and non-binary people experience eating disorders and are adversely impacted by eating disorder stereotypes, explore how multiple identities are often subsumed under gender in existing trans ED media/research, and deconstruct the dangerous and overarching narrative of asserting transition as a cure. This workshop also offers a basic, interactive trans competency training for healthcare professionals looking o offer more trans-friendly, gender-literate and accessible care.

Have you heard of the Health At Every Size(HAES) framework, but aren't sure of how it relates to your clinical work? Are you already using this paradigm to guide treatment?  Whether you're not sure what "HAES" really means, already using this approach when treating clients, or just aren't sure what to think, come join us for a lively discussion to consider how the HAES model can inform all types of eating disorders interventions. We'll review the 5 basic principles, consider common myths, give up-to-date research, and offer some brief clinical examples. Let's talk!

Terms like “pro ana,” “thinspo” and their countless hashtag variations have continued to make headlines and sound alarms about the relationship between social media and eating disorders.  But social media can also provide community, resources, and global awareness. This engaging presentation will explore the state of online eating disorders communities and highlight myths, facts and strategies for positive interventions.

Nancy Zucker, PhD, will share recent research on social media and eating disorders and representatives from Facebook and Instagram will present tools and campaigns that encourage healthy experiences and connect users to the help and support they need. We’ll conclude with a panel discussion to explore questions around eating disorders and social media and offer practical everyday advice related to social media and eating disorders.

The societal burden of eating disorders and the need for prevention are clear and compelling. Progress in prevention, however, has been slow, in part because of the overwhelming focus on interventions targeted at individual-level behavior change and the underwhelming contributions from professionals outside of the clinical disciplines. Progress in the field can be accelerated, but only through a realignment of our priorities, which we must shift in two critical ways to build: 1) Translational research designed to inform policy and environmental changes with high potential for large-scale impact; and 2) Training initiatives that increase disciplinary and practice expertise to inform policy translation action, including the disciplines of public health, economics, health law, and more. By prioritizing policy translational research and training, we can substantially accelerate the pace of progress in eating disorders prevention.

Join members of the Family Panel as they share insights on their experiences with eating disorders and speak from a broad range of perspectives on recovery and treatment. This panel will explore the challenges and barriers to recovery, as well as sources of support, strategies for self-care and the importance of enduring hope. This engaging discussion will put a spotlight on the personal impact of eating disorders and provide an opportunity for professionals, educators and families to hear directly from those affected.

The inclusion of binge eating disorder (BED) as a standalone diagnosis in the DSM-5 has led to increased BED research and treatment options, but these advances are not necessarily well-understood by the eating disorders community as a whole, practitioners, or the public. This presentation will review some of the recent advances in the BED treatment, research, and recovery, while underscoring the effect of the disorder on the individual sufferer.

Those who have lost a family member or other loved one to an eating disorder can come together to talk with others who have experienced this unique type of grief. Attendees will be encouraged to discuss healthy, positive ways they have found to cope with their loss.

Those who have struggled with an eating disorder are encouraged to join this discussion about eating disorder development, treatment, support systems, resources and recovery. Attendees will be encouraged to discuss self-care strategies that have been effective in maintaining recovery.

Those who are supporting—or have supported—a loved one with an eating disorder are encouraged to join this discussion about the challenges, emotional impacts, effects on the relationship, and strategies for coping and self-care.

The Networking Social is a wonderful opportunity to unwind at the end of the day, catch up with friends and make new connections. Refreshments will be served. The Networking Social is open to all conference attendees, as well as non-registered guests with pre-paid tickets.

Come Aboard Chicago’s First Lady! Join the crew as the NEDA Junior Board hosts an evening of dinner, dancing and sightseeing. The evening will feature spectacular city skylines, a buffet dinner and exciting auction packages as we cruise the Chicago River and Lake Michigan. All proceeds go to the NEDA Conference Scholarship Fund.