Treating suicide and self-harm in youth with eating disorders

New Date: December, 9, 2024

Time: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET 

This training is suitable for: 

Mental Health Professionals:  psychotherapists, counsellors, psychologists, social workers

Medical Professionals: nurses, psychiatrists, pediatricians, family doctors

Direct Service Workers: drop-in workers, shelter and hostel workers, child and youth workers, youth justice workers

Educators: teachers, ECE, school administration, support staff

Client category: Professionals working with individuals 12 years to adulthood

Level of training: Introductory

Prerequisite: Training in FBT and DBT are recommended as this training assumes foundational knowledge in both modalities.

Please note: This webinar is part of our eating disorders series designed to deepen your understanding of eating disorders. Join us for the full eating disorders webinar series and enhance your skills and insights across all topics:

• Nov. 18, 2024 - Wanting and not wanting to live and to die: The concept of a “life worth living” in eating disorders care.
• Dec. 9, 2024 - Treating suicide and self-harm in youth with eating disorders.
• March 3, 2025 - The practice and practicalities of DBT skills for eating disorders.

Description: Eating disorders (EDs) are complex biological and psychiatric illnesses associated with significant morbidity and mortality.  While FBT is considered a first-line treatment, more than 50% of patients do not respond adequately and relapse rates remain high. Research has highlighted that differential treatment approaches are needed for individuals presenting with co-occurring suicide, self-injury, trauma, and specific bio-temperamental characteristics. Standard ED treatments were never designed to treat multiple high-risk behaviours, do not have protocols for managing chronic suicide or self-injury, and do not comprehensively target emotion regulation problems. Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) is a comprehensive and multi-modal framework for managing emotion and interpersonal regulation difficulties. Integrating DBT and FBT provides a solid framework to help families and adolescents who struggle with multiple problem behaviours in the context of an eating disorder.

This introductory training will provide a brief overview of the scientific evidence of FBT and DBT and the rationale for integrating these two models for adolescents with anorexia nervosa experiencing other comorbid diagnosis.  Special attention will be given to parents of children struggling with suicide ideation and self -harm behaviours.

Learning objectives: 

• Understand the fundamental principles, interventions and distinct phases of FBT
• Describe the rationale for integrating DBT and FBT
• Use the adapted Biosocial Theory with clients
• Demonstrate dialectical strategies and DBT treatment assumptions
• Use DBT commitment strategies to manage food and weight challenges
• Teach families how to use behaviour chain analysis
• Explain when and how to integrate multifamily skills into FBT

Agenda:

9 to 1 0 a.m. - An overview of anorexia nervosa, rates of medical and mental health comorbidities, including suicide and self-injury. 

1 a.m. to noon -  Evolving from an agnostic view to the adapted biosocial theory: How to make sense of “chaos”. 

Noon to 1 p.m. - Lunch

1 to 4 p.m. - Clinical integration of FBT and DBT including clinical examples of when and how to integrate these two models and potential pitfalls and ways to mitigate challenges.

Audio/visual recording disclaimer: Please note that this training will be recorded. We kindly ask that you please review the audio/visual consent form.