CBT-AR-in-person

Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) was recently added to the Feeding and Eating Disorders section of DSM-5 to describe children, adolescents, and adults who cannot meet their nutritional needs, typically due sensory sensitivity, fear of aversive consequences, and/or apparent lack of interest in eating or food. Research on the efficacy of novel treatments is ongoing. One such novel treatment—cognitive-behavioral therapy for ARFID (CBT-AR)—has shown evidence of preliminary efficacy in three open trials and is currently being investigated in a randomized controlled trial funded by the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.

 This training (over two sessions of four hours each) will cover the assessment of ARFID and determining patient appropriateness of CBT-AR, as well as the implementation of all four stages of this flexible, modular treatment, for individuals with ARFID ages 10 and up. Material will be drawn from our book Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: Children, Adolescents, and Adults (Cambridge University Press, 2019), cases we have seen in our clinical practice, and our ongoing research studies on the neurobiology, treatment, and longitudinal course of ARFID. Our interactive presentation will include a brief description of the rationale for and goals of CBT-AR; detailed case examples drawn from a heterogeneous group of patients who have benefitted from CBT-R; critical choice points for tailoring CBT-AR to the presenting patient; and multiple role-play demonstrations. We welcome audience members to come with questions about specific cases from their own clinical practice, and we will leave ample time for discussion at the workshop’s conclusion.