Please join The Depression & Anxiety Specialty Clinic of Chicago (DASC) in welcoming Ms. Katie Lenahan, LCPC, CADC as she presents “Assessment, Diagnosis, and Clinical Strategies in the Treatment of Eating Disorders.” Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental health disorder, and the assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of these complex illnesses often pose unique challenges for treatment providers throughout a range of clinical settings.
This highly interactive workshop will provide participants with a thorough introduction into the assessment and diagnosis of eating and feeding disorders. Participants will learn how to identify the symptoms of various disorders in order to manage risk and inform treatment. Specifically, this workshop will assist participants in identifying the unique psychological and physiological challenges faced by clients with eating disorders. This workshop will provide adaptations of evidence-based practices for practitioners to utilize within an outpatient setting in the treatment of eating disorders, feeding disorders, and body image disturbances. These practices include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT).
This workshop aims to strengthen participants’ awareness of the complex challenges of treating eating disorders, feeding disorders, and body image disturbances while making effective treatment accessible and ready to be implemented in participants' practices. No previous experience in treating eating disorders is required to attend this workshop. Furthermore, this workshop serves as a prerequisite and is designed to prepare attendees for more advanced eating disorder workshops offered by DASC-Chicago.
•6 CEUs are available for Licensed Social Workers, LCSWs, LPCs, LCPCs, LMFTs
•6 Continuing Education credits are available for Licensed Clinical and Counseling Psychologists.
•DASC-Chicago is a Registered Social Worker Continuing Education Sponsor in the state of Illinois and an American Psychological Association Continuing Education Sponsor.
•This workshop is designed to be of benefit for Clinical and Counseling Psychologists, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Licensed Social Workers, Licensed Clinical Professional Counselors, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists who have strong basic clinical skills but limited experience in treating eating and feeding disorders.
This introductory level workshop is designed to help participants:
1. Appropriately assess and diagnose eating and feeding disorders
2. Learn how to identify risk factors in the development of eating and feeding disorders
3. Become familiar with the unique physiological and psychological effects of eating and feeding disorders
4. Learn how to adapt evidence-based practices in the treatment of eating and feeding disorders
5. Prepare for intermediate and advanced-level workshops in eating disorder-specific interventions
The Speaker-Katie Lenahan, LCPC, CADC
Katie Lenahan is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor at the Depression and Anxiety Specialty Clinic of Chicago (DASC) and leads the Eating Disorders Services. In this role, she coordinates all Eating Disorders services offered at DASC. She is the facilitator of the "Embracing your body" and "Mindful yoga and movement" groups specifically for the eating disorder population at DASC. She graduated from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota with her Bachelor’s degree in Human Services. She went on to earn her Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology, with a concentration in community mental health, from National Louis University in Chicago. While completing her Master’s degree, Ms. Lenahan completed clinical internships in sexual assault and domestic violence advocacy at Guardian Angel Community Services, and residential addictions treatment at Serenity House Counseling Services.
Prior to joining DASC, Ms. Lenahan served as the team lead of two residential group homes at the DuPage County Health Department for adults with chronic mental illness such as depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. Ms. Lenahan also worked as a primary therapist within Inpatient units, Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP), and Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP) at Linden Oaks Hospital and at Insight Behavioral Health Center. She served as a core therapist at Arabella House, a residential group home for women recovering from eating disorders. In these roles, she provided assessment services, program development, individual and family therapy, and facilitated groups with individuals struggling with eating disorders, substance abuse, self-harm, mood disorders, personality disorders, and PTSD.
Ms. Lenahan utilizes and adapts empirically validated treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Mindfulness, Motivational Interviewing, and Harm Reduction Strategies. Ms. Lenahan is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC), and her experience includes over 130 hours of training in providing counseling and court advocacy services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.
