Online

This introductory workshop will explore the psychodynamics of eating disorders as it relates to a mental health diagnosis such as anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder. Mental Health practitioners may struggle with knowing how to best respond to this complex emotional issue and may react with a countertransference of frustration, fear, or helplessness.

Outcomes: Participants should have the tools to enable them to have an in-depth understanding of eating disorders, specialised interventions most notably psychodynamic approaches, enhanced therapeutic skills, improved therapeutic relationships and increased insight into the function of transferences and resistances. Mental health practitioners who undertake this training will be better equipped to support individuals with eating disorders.

This workshop examines the observable symptoms of the various eating disorders, the developmental factors and family system patterns that often underpin disordered eating, the crucial relationship between eating disorders and the compulsion to control both emotional needs and bodily sensation. Participants will explore both their emotional reactions and therapeutic experiences to illuminate the function disordered eating plays in a person’s life. The focus of the training will then move to possible treatment options, with a specific emphasis on psychodynamic theory and practical strategies for supporting individuals struggling with disordered eating.

Suitable for: psychologists, psychotherapists, counsellors and health care professionals who seek a better understanding of disordered eating and how to help those who are struggling.

No specific entry requirements.

For more information about the course visit https://www.thelearningcurve.ie/courses/new-remote-learning-the-psychodynamics-of-eating-disorders-workshop

Presented by Kevin Fehin, Senior Clinical Psychologist and Psychotherapist. Kevin is currently employed in the Adult Mental Health Service with the HSE. Among other qualifications he holds a Masters in Psychoanalytic Studies.