Hello, fellow AED members!

I hope you are all enjoying the summer and finding some rest and reprieve amongst the chaos that this season can bring. 

I am excited to return with another revamped version of the newsletter. In this issue you will find information on a new avoidant and restrictive food intake disorder special interest group, co-chaired by Anna Karam Jones and Eva-Molly Petitto Dunbar; an update from the Experts by Experience Committee; and a list of new AED members, should you like to reach out and offer a warm welcome.

Also included is a survey soliciting feedback on the newsletter. As I mentioned in the previous issue, we are actively working to change the newsletter to meet the needs of AED members, and the best way for us to do that is to hear from you directly. The survey should take no more than 5 minutes, and your feedback will help us tremendously in making the newsletter a more useful resource to the AED community. Thank you in advance for your time!

As always, if you would like to email me directly to share feedback or suggestions for the newsletter, you can reach me at andiedchilson@gmail.com.

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer, and I’ll catch you all again in October!

We are excited to announce the creation of the Avoidant and Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) Special Interest Group (SIG). The mission of the ARFID SIG is to provide support, education, consultation, and resources for professionals and trainees who treat (or are learning to treat) individuals with ARFID and their families. Additionally, the ARFID SIG seeks to welcome individuals and their families with lived experience of ARFID.  

This eating disorder was only formally recognized in 2013, therefore, significant efforts are needed to promote awareness about ARFID to the AED community and beyond. Please join the ARFID SIG to gain access to lots of helpful resources and to join our monthly meetings (held the third Thursday of each month at 8 a.m. PST)! To do so, log in to your profile on www.aedweb.org/home > click the "Get Involved" tab > click the "Special Interests Groups (SIGs)" from the drop-down menu > click the "ARFID" link on the right side of the webpage where all the SIGs are listed > click "View Community" (or "Join the Community") > Click "Join Community".

Additionally, mark your calendars! The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT-ED) SIG and the ARFID SIG are excited to be co-hosting a virtual event as part of the CBT-ED SIG Ask the Experts consultation series! Jennifer Thomas and Kamryn Eddy will be discussing cognitive-behavioral therapy for avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. This is a special opportunity to consult with the developers and leading experts on CBT for ARFID and ask your trickiest clinical questions. All AED members are welcome to attend after joining either the CBT-ED or ARFID SIG. Please feel free to send your questions to us ahead of time, or just come prepared for a lively discussion!

The Ask the Experts meeting will be held on Monday, September 30th, 2024 at 9 a.m. EST / 6 a.m. PST. The Zoom link will be posted to the CBT-ED and ARFID SIG discussion boards roughly 2 weeks prior to the meeting! Please direct questions for this event to catherine.drury@ucsf.edu or olivia.carter@health.wa.gov.au.

Anna Karam Jones

Eva-Molly Dunbar

Olivia Carter

Catherine Drury

This year is shaping up to be a big one for the Experts by Experience (ExE) Committee as we welcome our new board liaison Erin Harrop, new co-chairs Joanna Mercuri and Sandi James, and new committee members. There has been a lot of change within ExE and we are excited to collaborate with other committees and special interest groups (SIGs) to provide ongoing professional development and support. 

Later this year, the ExE Committee will collaborate with the Substance Related & Addictive Disorders SIG to run a panel webinar discussing lived experience and the treatment of co-occurring substance use disorder and eating disorders. Panel members will include lived experience professionals who can offer insight into this complex area. In addition, our committee is working to assemble an ExE directory describing who we are, our areas of expertise, and provide opportunities for consultation and collaboration. 

As a committee that is comprised of individuals with lived experience of the very disorders that our academy seeks to eradicate, ExE is committed to spearheading the ongoing conversation in our field about the intersection of lived experience and professional research and practice. We endeavor to clarify how these two realms may mutually aid one another in the pursuit of academic as well as clinical excellence. 

If you have suggestions, comments, or questions, please reach out to a member of our committee. We look forward to our combined contribution to the AED’s vision for, “a world without eating disorders through science and practice.” 

Sandi James

Joanna Mercuri