NOTE: Due to COVID, this training has moved to an online format!
I am so excited to be offering this day-long training at Lewis & Clark College - here is the description for the event:
Misconceptions, implicit bias, and unchallenged cultural norms perpetuate the issues our society faces with diets, eating disorders and disordered eating & body shaming. Equating worth and value to appearance and the ever-moving mark for chasing “health” being manipulated by the diet and fitness industry, makes it hard to know what is “right” when it comes to health and wellness and where it crosses a line into dangerous, physically and psychologically harmful and shame-based norms and ideals.
According to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders, over 30 million people from all intersecting identities suffer from an eating disorder in the US, with one person dying as a direct result of them every 62 minutes. And in greater numbers are those that become uncomfortable, feel shame about or hate their bodies, turning to dieting, isolation and other extreme means to address their perceived “deficiencies”. And what is the best known environmental factor contributing to the development of these disorders? The sociocultural drive for thinness; too many people are consciously and subconsciously perpetuating a culture of oppression and marginalization of people based on their body shape, size and relationship with food. It’s time we make a change.
Join Kyira Wackett, a licensed professional counselor who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders, disordered eating issues and body image distress as she helps define these cultural issues and provide greater context to the effects they have on our culture, how to treat them and what we need to do in order to shape new cultural ideals around appearance.
The first part of the day will be an interdisciplinary workshop designed for practitioners, students and community participants defining eating disorders, body image distress, “fat phobia” and more, with a focus on cultural considerations and implications, community inclusion and ways to challenge our own biases regarding weight, body shape, and health.
Attendees will challenge myths and perceptions including their own biases, talk about the risk factors associated with these presenting concerns and address one of the primary concerns we face today — social media and the perpetuation of an idealized image.
Later in the day, she will walk practitioners through more specifics on diagnosing and treating eating disorders and distinguishing them from disordered eating, clinical presentations and concerns and how to best work with an integrated care team, addressing body image distress and body shame with clients of all diagnoses and experiences, and how to use models such as Health at Every Size and Body Trust to inform your practice. A primary focus will be placed on considering multicultural inclusion and intersecting identities including gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, history of trauma and more.
Interested in attending? Check out the link for either the community training (9-12PM) or the full practitioner training (9-4PM)