Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is a complex and heterogeneous eating disorder that continues to challenge clinicians due to its varied presentations and limited evidence base. Dr Rachel Bryant-Waugh and Dr. James Lock, internationally recognised experts in the field, will offer complementary approaches to support practitioners working with children and adolescents with ARFID.
Dr. Bryant‐Waugh will explore the latest insights into ARFID’s development, clinical assessment and tailored, multi-modal treatments, using a formulation-based approach that adapts to each individual presentation.
Dr. Lock will explore how Family-Based Treatment (FBT), an evidence-supported approach for youth eating disorders, can be adapted for ARFID. He will outline the core principles of FBT-ARFID and illustrate key therapeutic strategies through clinical case examples, including adaptations for younger children.
Together, the speakers aim to strengthen clinicians’ confidence in assessment and treatment planning, offering a comprehensive view of current best practices in working with ARFID in young people.
Booking
Sign up at this link or on the Book Now button at the top of the screen, and complete the form that follows. You’ll then receive an email confirmation and a link to the webinar, plus we’ll send you a calendar reminder nearer the time. Delegates will have exclusive access to recordings for 90 days after the event, together with slides. Plus you will get a personalised CPD certificate via email.
- ACAMH Members MUST login to book onto the webinar in order to access this webinar and get a CPD certificate
- Non-members this is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer, and make the saving on these sessions
EARLY BIRD £79 for ACAMH Members (Print, Online, Concession, Undergraduate/Postgraduate) Join now and save (£99 from 31/07/25)
EARLY BIRD £99 ACAMH Learn Account holders (£119 from 31/07/25)
EARLY BIRD £99 Non Members (£119 from 31/07/25)
FREE LIC Members
Don’t forget as a charity any surplus made is reinvested back as we work to our vision of ‘Sharing best evidence, improving practice’, and our mission to ‘Improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 0-25’.
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About the session
Dr. Rachel Bryant-Waugh – Evidence-based approaches in work with young people with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: an overview for clinicians
Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) was formally included as one of the feeding and eating disorders in DSM-5 in 2013 and in ICD-11 in 2018. It is still a relatively new diagnostic term, but the clinical presentations it includes are not new. The past ten years has seen a growing research interest in all aspects of ARFID, including its development, epidemiology, clinical presentation, assessment, treatment and outcomes, as well as a welcome move towards improving and increasing clinical service provision for people with this eating disorder. Current national and international guidance recommends multi-disciplinary, multi-modal treatment approaches, with a form of psychological intervention as main treatment. As ARFID presentations vary, a formulation-based, tailored approach is usually advised.
There remains understandable clinician uncertainty about best treatment for ARFID given the heterogeneity in presentations and the scarcity of good quality evidence from large-scale, well-designed treatment trials. This workshop includes a summary overview of published evidence and knowledge about ARFID, to increase participants’ awareness and confidence in their own understanding. A key aim is to focus on evidence-based practice guidance for clinicians seeing young people with ARFID or ARFID-like eating behaviours in their practice. This includes discussing a structured model for clinical assessment which can deliver the information required both to make a diagnosis of ARFID and to plan appropriate treatment. Content will include outlining the main assessment components known to be of relevance, providing practical guidance on decision-making relating to optimally targeted management interventions, and highlighting treatment approaches currently showing most promise.
Learning objectives:
- To understand that ARFID presentations vary with a related requirement for tailored approaches to intervention.
- To acquire updated knowledge about evidence for the effectiveness of psychological interventions for ARFID.
- To understand the rationale for and main components of a structured approach to clinical assessment and treatment decision-making to be able to optimally target management interventions.
Dr. James Lock – Family-based Treatment (FBT) for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder
This talk describes the current research findings supporting the use of Family-Based Treatment (FBT) for eating disorders in youth, with a particular focus on children with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). Following this background, the talk discusses the specific strategies therapists use in implementing FBT with children and families affected by ARFID. The approach includes the application of fundamental assumptions—agnosticism, externalization, parental empowerment, consultation, and behavioral focus—in FBT-ARFID. Typically, FBT-ARFID comprises three phases; however, for younger children (pre-adolescents), two phases usually suffice. Key therapeutic interventions are described and illustrated through case studies.
Learning objectives:
- To understand the research literature supporting FBT-ARFID
- To describe the main tenets and interventions of FBT-ARFID
- To illustrate the main interventions of FBT-ARFID through case studies.
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About the speaker
Dr. Rachel Bryant-Waugh is an experienced eating disorders clinician and researcher, based at the Maudsley Hospital and Kings College London. She is recognised internationally as a leading expert on ARFID, having sat on both the DSM-5 and the ICD-11 diagnostic workgroups and maintained a high level of related activity since its introduction. Rachel was National Clinical Adviser for the establishment of England’s young people’s Eating Disorder Pathway and led the National ARFID Pilot. She has won national and international awards for her contributions. Rachel has a longstanding interest in working with autistic people with eating disorders and is passionate about learning from people with lived experience.
James Lock, MD, Ph.D. is the Eric Rothenberg, MD Professor of Child Psychiatry and Pediatrics and Senior Associate Chair and Director of the Eating Disorder Program in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. Dr. Lock has published over 300 peer reviewed articles, chapters, and books. He has been continuously funded by NIH since 1998. His research has focused on interventions for eating disorders among children and adolescents. More recently his research aims to integrate treatment research with neuroscience, including neurocognitive processes and functional and neuroanatomical correlates. He has lectured in the US, Canada, Europe, South America, Asia and Australia and New Zealand. He was awarded the Price Family Foundation Award for Research Excellence and the Leadership Award for Research from the International Academy of Eating Disorders. He is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, Fellow of the International Academy of Eating Disorders and the Agnes Purcell McGavin Award for Distinguished Career Achievement in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from the American Psychiatric Association for 2018 and a Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association. His book co-authored with Dr. Daniel Le Grange, Treatment Manual for Anorexia Nervosa: A Family-based Approach is seminal in the field. Other major books include: Adolescent Focused Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa, Family-based Treatment for Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder; Family Based Treatment for Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders Piece by Piece: A Practical Guide for Families and Practitioners, and Pocket Guide For the Assessment and Treatment of Eating Disorders.
Booking
Sign up at this link or on the Book Now button at the top of the screen, and complete the form that follows. You’ll then receive an email confirmation and a link to the webinar, plus we’ll send you a calendar reminder nearer the time. Delegates will have exclusive access to recordings for 90 days after the event, together with slides. Plus you will get a personalised CPD certificate via email.
- ACAMH Members MUST login to book onto the webinar in order to access this webinar and get a CPD certificate
- Non-members this is a great time to join ACAMH, take a look at what we have to offer, and make the saving on these sessions
EARLY BIRD £79 for ACAMH Members (Print, Online, Concession, Undergraduate/Postgraduate) Join now and save (£99 from 31/07/25)
EARLY BIRD £99 ACAMH Learn Account holders (£119 from 31/07/25)
EARLY BIRD £99 Non Members (£119 from 31/07/25)
FREE LIC Members
Don’t forget as a charity any surplus made is reinvested back as we work to our vision of ‘Sharing best evidence, improving practice’, and our mission to ‘Improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 0-25’.