Highlights from the 2018 International Conference on Eating Disorders

This year marked the 25th Anniversary for the Academy of Eating Disorders' International Conference and it did not disappoint! This conference is one of my favorites of the year, not only because there are individuals from every continent representing different disciplines, but it's also a chance to connect with old and new colleagues, collaborate, and have fun. Here's just a few of many nuggets of information I wanted share:

1. Weight suppression (the difference between highest past weight and current weight) leads to longer duration of illness. (Here is one recent article.)

2. AED offers free educational webinars for its members. The next one is on "Treating Eating Disorders in Patients with Comorbid Substance Use Disorders" on 4/30/2018. Check it out!

3. Rebecka Peebles, MD will keep one honest and nudge you gently to do what one needs to do! (I can't help that I liked being at your World Café table!)

4. Stuart Murray, Ph.D., Scott Griffiths, and Jason Lavender, Ph.D. are where it's at for information on males and eating disorders.

5. S. Bryn Austin, ScD continues to rock the advocacy world and recommends these two books for getting more involved: So You Want to Make a Difference by Nancy Amidei and The Art of Lobbying by Bertram J. Levine.

6. Mary Bowman, MSN and Scout Bratt, MSE are doing great work to provide best practices for transgender and non-binary individuals experiencing eating disorders. Here are just a few resources they shared: Trans Student Educational Resources, Endocrine Society Transgender Health, UCSF's Center of Excellence for Transgender Health, and Trans Folx Fighting Eating Disorders.

7. I finally got to meet my sibling project collaborator, Kym Piekunka, in person and we made our first on the fly video!

8. I learned that there are few to no resources for those experiencing an eating disorder in Honduras and that Graziamaria Zacapa Sheran is setting up a family-based treatment center there.

9. There is a lot of work around weight stigma to address. One of the best quotes on this was from Amy Pershing, who said, "We are asking our clients to recover in and live in a world that is hostile to size diversity."

10. Columbia University's Eating Disorder Clinic offers a semi-structured invertivew to help assess DSM-5 feeding and eating disorders. You can find out more about it here.

11. There is a group of amzaing people working hard on establishing residential treatment standards. Find out more by visiting REDC's website.

12. There is also a lot of interesting work being done to explore intestinal microbiota and how it could impact mental health and recovery.

13. Kristina Saffran contnues to rock the fundraising and treatment access world - if you don't know her, I highly recommend learning more about her!

14. The Compassionate Mind Foundation in the UK has lots of free audio files to build up your compassion muslces.

15. Chase Bannister and Jillian Lampert, Ph.D. know how to hold a Town Hall! Check out all they are doing at the Eating Disorders Coalition!

16. Laura Collins Lyster-Mensh, MS led a solid workshop on diversity and gridlock! Along with Eric van Furth, Ph.D., Carolyn Black Becker, Ph.D., FAED, and Carolyn Costin, MA, LMFT, she guided the participants in a World Café experience to choose statements we could come to a consenus on. Here are the results:

17. Erin Harrop and Rachel Milner are the new Weight Stigma and Social Justice Co-chairs. If you are a member of AED, I encourage you to join this Special Interest Group (SIG) to learn more. Here is one article Nadia Craddock Ed.M. shared with the group: Why I'm no longer talking to white people about race by Reni Eddo-Lodge.

18. There is always too much to do, so much to see, and way too many people to connect with. Check the hashtag #ICED2018 for things you might have missed!

19. I also loved being a part of FEAST's Knowledge Forum the day after ICED and am grateful to have co-led a discussion on sibling needs with Kym Piekiunka. Here are two resources for siblings of those experiencing eating disorders: http://www.kymadvocates.com/ & http://edfnl.ca/eating-disorders-a-siblings-perspective. Additionally, you can catch the live-streamed event here.

20. Save the date for #ICED2019 in New York City (March 13-16) and #ICED2020 in Sydney with ANZED (June 10-13)!!!