Eating Disorders

Special Emphasis Area: Eating Disorders

An intern selecting the special emphasis area of eating disorders will acquire experience in the provision of assessment, consultation, individual and group counseling, and outreach programming. In addition, the intern will work with other health professionals and use a treatment team model. Working with eating disorders requires that the intern draw from individual, family, biological, and sociological knowledge domains. An intern successfully completing this area will be able to treat clients with a variety of eating disorder issues, administer eating disorders assessments, and perform eating disorder prevention services as a psychologist in a university counseling center or eating disorders treatment program.

Counseling Requirements:

• Maintain at least three individual clients who have eating disorders on your caseload throughout the semester (anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder if possible) to be supervised by the coordinator of eating disorders or a staff person designated by the coordinator.
• Co-lead psychoeducational group for clients with minimal therapy experience who are actively practicing the eating disorder and for those at risk for developing an eating disorder due to body image.

  Or depending on availability and your experience:

  Co-lead the process Eating Disorders Group for students who have had hospital or intensive individual treatment and are ready to address psychodynamic issues and engage in group process.

Assessment Requirement:

• Observe a senior staff counselor (selected by the area supervisor) perform a clinical assessment of a student with an eating disorder or watch a tape of a senior staff member. Demonstrate experience with assessment by writing up one assessment using the clinical interview and a standardized instrument tool. Maintain one-two assessments on your caseload throughout the semester.

Outreach and Consultation Requirements:

• Participate on the eating disorders outreach team.

Special Emphasis Project

The intern will complete a Special Emphasis Project under the director of the area supervisor. The content of the Special Emphasis Project will be negotiated with the area supervisor, but the project must demonstrate how the material relates to diverse populations. The intern will present the outcome of the project to the SCS staff in a second-hour staff meeting.

Examples of Special Emphasis Projects include:

• Development of case examples for later training
• Updating/development of outreach Power Point presentations
• Leadership/Completion of a new Eating Disorders Awareness Week activity
• Review/critic/summarization of new ED books released

At a minimum, the intern will meet monthly with the area supervisor to discuss eating disorder readings (assigned first semester) and ongoing projects. Discussion topics and readings will include topics such as Set Point Theory, Biopsychosocial Model, Sizism, treatment team model, and specific interventions.

Area Supervisor: Michelle Roling, M.Ed.

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