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Evaluation ViewAttendees 3

Half Day Institute - Ticketed

Eating Disorders

Institute 7 - Innovations in Eating Disorder Treatment: Expanding Your Tool Box with Strategies from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Thursday, November 14, 2024
8:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST
Location: 305/306, Level 3, Downtown Marriott
Earn 5 Credit
Ticketed Session
Keywords: ACT (Acceptance & Commitment Therapy), Eating, Body Image
Level of Familiarity: Basic to Moderate
Recommended Readings: Onnink, C. M., Konstantinidou, Y., Moskovich, A. A., Karekla, M. K., & Merwin, R. M. (2022). Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for eating disorders: A systematic review of intervention studies and call to action. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 26, 11-28.,   Juarascio, A. S., Manasse, S. M., Schumacher, L., Espel, H., & Forman, E. M. (2017). Developing an acceptance-based behavioral treatment for binge eating disorder: Rationale and challenges. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 24(1), 1-13.,   Merwin, R.M. (2020). ACT Innovations for Dangerous Weight Control: Anorexia Nervosa and ED-DMT1. In M. Levin, M. Twohig & J. Krafft (Eds.). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Clinical Advances and Applications in ACT. New Harbinger Publications: Oakland, CA.,   Gloster, A. T., Walder, N., Levin, M. E., Twohig, M. P., & Karekla, M. (2020). The empirical status of acceptance and commitment therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 18, 181-192.,   Macri, J. A., & Rogge, R. D. (2024). Examining domains of psychological flexibility and inflexibility as treatment mechanisms in acceptance and commitment therapy: A comprehensive systematic and meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 102432. Doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2024.102432

Eating disorders (EDs) have a profound impact on health and wellbeing, and are associated with increased disability, mortality and risk of suicide. EDs affect people of all ages, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and socioecomomic status. An ED may be the primary presenting problem, or disordered eating may be a symptom of a broader struggle with anxiety, depression or trauma. While significant progress has been made in the treatment of EDs, many individuals have a suboptimal treatment response. Practitioners often must also address disordered eating while treating other comorbid conditions, which can be challenging without a framework for how issues may be related, or how target behaviors may serve a similar function or purpose (e.g., experiential avoidance).

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a transdiagnostic intervention that improves human functioning by increasing psychological flexibility (or the ability to contact the present moment fully, without unnecessary attempts to avoid or escape internal experience, and behave in ways that align with deeply held personal values). ACT may offer a conceptual frame that is useful for coordinating treatment, particularly in cases of multiple co-morbidities. ACT interventions may also increase the impact of evidence-based practices for EDs or client’s willingness to participate (e.g., food exposure), or provide new avenues for intervention.

This workshop will provide an overview of the ACT model and the 6 inter-related therapeutic processes of acceptance, defusion, present moment awareness, self-as-context, values and committed action.

Practitioners will learn to conceptualize disordered eating behaviors as part of a larger functional class of behavior, and use this conceptualization to guide intervention. They will also learn how to integrate ACT interventions into other evidence-based practices to disrupt disordered eating and teach clients to meet their physical and emotional needs. Training methods will include didactic presentation, case material, demonstrations and experiential exercises.

Outline:
8:00-9:30am       
Overview of ACT model; formulation of eating disorders from an ACT perspective; functional assessment of eating disorder behavior; treatment planning.
9:30-9:45am break
9:45-11:15am      
Functional assessment and treatment planning (continued). Generating willingness, defusion and self-interventions (this will include orientation to each therapeutic process, live demonstration and case examples, and integration with other evidence-based practices for eating disorders).
11:15-11:30am break
11:30-1pm         
Continuing to build/expand willingness, values authorship and engagement (this will include orientation to each therapeutic process, live demonstration and case examples, and integration with other evidence-based practices for eating disorders).

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Identify at least 2 ways in which ACT might be useful in the treatment of EDs.
  2. Define the 6 core therapeutic processes of the ACT model and identify 1 example intervention for each.
  3. Complete an ACT consistent case formulation for ED behavior and an initial treatment plan.
  4. Describe how ACT processes are integrated into other evidence-based practices for EDs (e.g., food exposure, appetite awareness training).
  5. Identify 1 example of a specific ACT intervention that can be used to address a challenge in ED treatment (e.g., alexithymia, low motivation for change).
  6. Long-term Goal: Conceptualize eating disorders from an ACT perspective and develop an ACT-informed treatment plan.
  7. Long-term Goal: Integrate ACT interventions into other evidence-based practices for eating disorders.