Expanding Your Practice Toolkit: Managing Gastrointestinal Issues in Eating Disorders

Organisation / Service

WAEDOCS

Duration

4 hours

Learning Level

Suitable for advanced practitioners.

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f you are a dietitian working in the area of eating disorders, then you will certainly have come across digestive disorders, and don’t they make everything more difficult! The prevalence of functional digestive disorders in eating disorders has been cited as up to 97%. There is a clear bi-directional relationship between gastrointestinal disorders and mental illnesses including eating disorders. Gastrointestinal discomfort can contribute to disordered eating behaviours, and malnutrition and restriction can contribute to further dysfunction of the digestive tract. Contrary to past thinking, it is common that gastrointestinal disturbance may persist long after nutritional status has been restored and eating disorder behaviours have been resolved. Having clear goals and expectations of treatment with clients who experience both digestive and eating disorders can help to optimise outcomes, digestive symptom improvement, and ultimately recovery.

This collaborative workshop will include information on:

• The most common presentations of gastrointestinal disturbances you are likely to see in clients living with eating disorders, including how to assess their symptoms and evaluate progress over time.
• Discussion of the evidence based dietary and non-dietary interventions that have been shown to improve digestive disorders, and how best to apply these in the eating disorder population.
• A collection of practical tools to take away and use with your clients, including how to set clear goals and expectations of treatment for digestive concerns.
• Case studies highlighting common presentations such as clients with severe constipation, clients with IBS, and clients with gastroparesis such as those receiving Semaglutides

Education provided at this skill building workshop is suitable for dietitians across all care settings. It is assumed dietitians attending this training already possess the qualifications, knowledge, training, and professional development profile to meet minimum standards in line with the ANZAED dietetic practice standards. It is implied that dietitians attending this workshop already understand the foundations of evidence based dietetic management for eating disorders.

Cost

No cost for NMHS/WAEDSS dietitians / $165 for others