Assessment, Etiology and Diagnosis of Eating Disorders

Course Objectives

• Make a differential diagnosis by identifying criteria of DSM-5-defined eating disorders.
• Evaluate the intensity of a disorder as a precursor to making treatment recommendations.
• Display a knowledge of various available treatment options.
• Make appropriate referrals, and understand existing damages and potential for future damage.
• Understand the lethal potential of eating-disorder illnesses, and refer to the proper level of treatment for the stage of the disorder.

What You Learn

• Signs and symptoms of the various types of eating disorder, including the new categories and subcategories
• Differential diagnosis and co-existing diagnoses such as substance abuse, obsessive-compulsive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, personality disorders and psychosis
• Assessment tools, including history taking, testing instruments and medical information, as well as eating disorder inventory, Beck's depressive scale, MIMPI and medical tests
• Medical symptomology
• Etiology and familial patterns
• Treatment options in individual therapy, group therapy, family therapy, medical hospitalization, intensive outpatient therapy and residential treatment

How You Learn

• PowerPoint slides
• Handouts
• Detailed assessment tool
• In-class discussion