S. Todd Callahan, MD, MPH

Presentation Title:

“You, Me, and FBT: Practical Applications of Family Based Treatment for Healthcare Professionals of All Disciplines”

Presentation Overview:

Eating disorder symptoms are disruptive to adolescent physical, social, and psychological development.  Evidence-based approaches to management require a family-focused approach to efficiently contain eating disorder symptoms, restore adequate energy intake, and manage physical and psychological symptoms.  Family Based Treatment (FBT) for eating disorders characterized by restriction is the best studied approach but only a small proportion of youth who might benefit from this approach receive it, usually attributable to a lack of treatment providers.  Concepts of FBT are similar to approaches that healthcare providers utilize in helping families manage symptoms in other conditions. This interactive workshop will use a case-based approach to discuss strategies of implementing a FBT approach for youth with eating disorders presenting to healthcare providers across disciplines.

Learning Objectives:

1. Attendees will understand the basic tenets of family-based treatment
2. Attendees will be able to discuss the goals and concepts of Phase 1 of FBT
3. Attendees will be able to describe a model for setting the stage for “food as medicine”

Speaker Biography:

S. Todd Callahan, MD, MPH is Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Division of Adolescent & Young Adult Health at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He directs the eating disorders program at Vanderbilt, facilitating medical evaluation and treatment of youth with suspected eating disorders from throughout the southeast United States. He is an associate editor of Neinstein’s Adolescent and Young Adult Health Care, the most widely used textbook in Adolescent health care in North America and is past Chair of the Adolescent Medicine Subboard of the American Board of Pediatrics.