Sunshine Coast: What do I focus on? When ADHD co-exists with an Eating Disorder

About this event

Note: This presentation is for members of the Sunshine Coast Eating Disorders Mental Health Professionals Network.

Up to one third of individuals with an eating disorder present with symptoms of ADHD, while those with ADHD have a three-fold risk of developing an eating disorder.

Given that response to eating disorder treatment is poorer among those with co-existing ADHD yet treating the ADHD with stimulant medication poses additional risks such as appetite suppression and further weight loss, a well-considered approach to addressing both presentations is paramount. 

Eating disorder clinicians often receive requests for an assessment or treatment of ADHD from the clients they are working with. This may pose a conundrum similar to what the clients themselves experience, including feeling overwhelmed and not knowing what to focus on, at what stage, and how to do so effectively.

The presentation will combine a review of the literature with clinical experience in the treatment of eating disorders and ADHD to provide a framework to delineate treatment priorities when these two conditions co-exist.

The meeting will be covering a framework for treatment priorities:

• An overview of ADHD for eating disorder clinicians
• Data about ADHD and eating disorder co-morbidity
• Treating eating disorders when there is ADHD – adaptations required for psychological therapy
• Treating ADHD when there is an eating disorder – assessment considerations, benefits and risks of medications
• Rationale for order of treatment priorities

 RSVPs essential.