Inland Empire Chapter of CAMFT

Taking the Fear out of Working with Eating Disorders, Part II

Gina Holmes, LMFT

Many therapists’ experience working with eating disorder clients has been fraught with anxiety, especially if they got caught up in the client’s circular--seemingly delusional--reasoning and/or began to personally identify with the obsessional torment ED clients can live in 24/7.  As statistically more people die from eating disorders than any other psychological disorder, some fear in treating this population is based in reality, and when a client’s eating disorder is threatening her or his life, you have to be more directive, which can be difficult for some therapists.

Because ED clients tend to be very adept at reading others and will pick up on any insecurity you may have about their treatment and use it as an excuse to believe in the terminal uniqueness that can accompany an eating disorder, the therapist must enter the treatment process confident in their skills as well as their understanding of eating disorders, the available medical and therapeutic support teams, and specific treatment plan options.

In addition to providing specific therapeutic techniques and skill sets for working with eating disorder clients, in this seminar we will discuss when to treat in private practice and when to refer out.  We will also discuss treatment contracts and forms you may want to have clients sign for their understanding and your protection.  You will also be given the APA Guidelines for the treatment levels of clients with eating disorders, so you can feel confident in your referrals.

This seminar will begin with a quick review of key concepts presented at the Part I seminar on October 28, 2016.

Objectives:

Attendees will be able to:

1) Name key concepts of working with eating disorders; 2) Name specific interventions and treatment strategies for use by therapists; 3) identify clients appropriate for services; 4) Identify local resources for clients that need a higher level of care

Gina Holmes, LMFT has had extensive experience in working with eating disorder clients in the Inland Empire since 2005 where she has worked as a Clinical Therapist, Loma Linda University Behavioral Medical Center, Redlands, CA providing group, individual, and family therapy to both adolescents and adults in the Eating Disorder Partial Hospitalization Program.  It was in this program that she worked with Kaiser psychiatrists contracted with the University who recruited her to come to Kaiser to start their Eating Disorder Intensive Outpatient Program. 

As Program Developer and Manager, Adult Eating Disorder Program, Kaiser Permanente Department of Psychiatry, Fontana, CA, she has co-developed a leading outpatient eating disorder program within Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California region, and a complimentary Eating Disorder Intensive Outpatient Program, which has been fully developed by 2009, and which has been the blueprint other Kaisers are using to develop their own eating disorder programs. The Fontana program regularly hosts observation visits from Kaisers throughout Southern California and provides guidance throughout their program development.

In addition to the EDIOP responsibilities, she also provides individual and family therapeutic services to adults with all types of diagnoses with an eclectic orientation and specialties in family of origin, inner child, and trauma issues. She has a strong working knowledge of 1) APA Guidelines regarding the Standard of Care for the treatment of Eating Disorders, and 2) local and state laws

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