Eating Disorders, PTSD/Complex PTSD and Dissociation: Integrated Treatment Considerations - Part 2

Organised by the Trauma & Eating Disorders Special Interest Group

About this event

The presenter combines his 40 plus years of clinical research experience and knowledge of the relevant peer-reviewed scientific literature to present a synthesis that supports the major premises of this 2-part talk. In this part, which is part 2, Dr. Brewerton will argue that integrated treatment strategies that extend beyond currently accepted sequential approaches are required to adequately address the complexity of ED presentations, especially in higher levels of care. These cascading, evolving, and intertwined perspectives have important implications for the assessment and treatment of EDs using trauma-informed care and trauma-focused treatment approaches. Previously published treatment guidelines do not adequately address the assessment and treatment approaches of ED patients with PTSD/CPTSD/DPTSD/DDs and other trauma-related comorbidities. The result is a lack of integration between ED and trauma-focused treatment providers, which often leads to fragmented, incomplete, uncoordinated and ineffective care of individuals with EDs and complex trauma. This presentation will address these gaps and present a rational, clinical research based integrated guideline for addressing these complexities. These principles and strategies are borrowed from several relevant evidence-based approaches. Evidence suggests that continuing with traditional single-disorder focused, sequential treatment models that do not prioritize integrated, trauma-focused treatment approaches are short-sighted and often inadvertently perpetuate this dangerous multimorbidity.