Course Description

Over the span of six sessions, Dr. Rowell will share compelling research, experiences, client vignettes, as well as wisdom from colleagues on avoidant eating across the lifespan. This deeper understanding of the factors that impact anxiety and eating, along with specific tips to support appetite and curiosity around variety, will help you better care for your clients.

• Begin with the critical importance of the earliest months and years - when individuals learn to relate to food and their bodies. 
• Understand how the spectrum of non-problematic eating and behaviors around food and mealtimes is critical to "do no harm." 
• Gain insights into dynamics that may have helped create or maintain avoidant eating.
• Consider the spectrum of avoidant eating, from typical to ARFID, as well as a survey of relevant ARFID literature as it pertains to weight, anxiety, and medical compromise. Consider how AN and ARFID differ, how ARFID subtypes show up in research, and why it matters. 
• Explore the varied reasons why children might struggle with eating.
• Learn about common pediatric feeding therapies, from externally motivating behavioral programs, to sensory-focused therapies and responsive approaches.
• And finally, explore how the RFT values and goals can be applied to a responsive treatment approach for avoidant eating including ARFID, in the eating disorder setting. 

This course touches on the “fear” (or “aversive”) subtype of ARFID, but the primary focus is on the “low appetite” and “sensory” subtypes as they are most common in outpatient settings.

The course totals 9 hours, presented in six sessions.