Practical Tools for Treating Body Dissatisfaction and Eating Disorders
Note: Times listed are Eastern Daylight Time Zone
Description
This introductory continuing education webinar gives participants practical tools for recognizing and responding to body dissatisfaction and eating-disorder concerns in everyday clinical work. Participants will learn how to ask effective screening questions, spot red flags across different ages and presentations, and document risk in a clear, clinically useful way. The training focuses on concrete interventions—language that reduces shame and skills to shift clients toward values-based coping. Participants will leave with guidance for managing common treatment snags, including ambivalence, secrecy, family dynamics, and social media triggers. The webinar concludes with actionable next steps for safety planning, referrals, and level-of-care decisions, and coordinating care with medical and nutrition providers.
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
- Identify and assess body dissatisfaction and eating-disorder risk using practical screening questions, observable red flags, and clear documentation practices.
- Correct at least two longstanding myths about eating disorders.
- Implement in-session interventions that reduce shame and unhelpful body-focused behaviors while strengthening values-based coping and adaptive skills.
Explain two reasons, shown by research, why these disorders can be so persistent and thus challenging to treat.
- Identify at least three ways you can be helpful to clients with eating disorders.
Instructor Bios
Dr. Charlotte Markey has been studying eating behavior and body image for nearly 30 years. Charlotte completed her B.S. at Santa Clara University and her Ph.D. in health psychology at the University of California–Riverside. She had been a psychology professor at Rutgers University-Camden since 2002. She recently completed her MSW, and began seeing patients with eating disorders and body image concerns. Charlotte’s research has focused on eating, body image, and social influences on health. Her research has included romantic partners, parent, and media influences (including social media) on youths’ eating behaviors and body image. Some of her recent research examines predictors of positive body image.Charlotte has written a number of books, including the body image book series has been published by Cambridge University Press, including The Body Image Book for Girls: Love Yourself and Grow Up Fearless (2020; 2nd edition, 2026), Being You: The Body Image Book for Boys (2022), Adultish: The Body Image Book for Life (2024). These are evidence-based, yet accessible books intended for tween, teens, young adults, and their caregivers.
To learn more about Charlotte Markey, you can visit her website www.CharlotteMarkey.com or www.TheBodyImageBook.com or connect with her on Facebook and Instagram.
Alli Spotts-De Lazzer is a licensed mental health therapist (LMFT & LPCC) and Certified Eating Disorders Specialist and Approved Consultant (CEDS-C) with nearly two decades of clinical experience. She is the lead author of My Child Has an Eating Disorder: An Essential Guide for Parents of Kids, Teens, and Adults (Bloomsbury Academic, in press) and a Psychology Today columnist. She also authored MeaningFULL: 23 Life-Changing Stories of Conquering Dieting, Weight, & Body Image Issues and has contributed articles to peer-reviewed journals, trade magazines, Verywell Mind, and Medscape. Alli created the #ShakeIt for Self-Acceptance!™ initiative, promoting body acceptance and mental health awareness. She frequently speaks at universities, training facilities, and conferences.
To learn more about Alli Spotts-De Lazzer, you can visit her website www.LiveYourFullStory.com or connect with her on Facebook and Instagram
The instructors do not have any conflicts of interest for this webinar.
Contact Us
For questions, please contact: ce@gsapp.rutgers.edu
Continuing Education Policy:
Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology (GSAPP) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0123.
LMFT/MFT and LPC/LAC Licensed in New Jersey: Programs approved by the American Psychological Association are acceptable sources of continuing education credits. Please see https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/regulations/Chapter-34-Subchapters-10-31-Professional-Counselors.pdf, Section: 13:34-15.4 APPROVAL OF COURSES OR PROGRAMS on page 27. For all other professional licenses and certifications, please reference your issuing state board regulations regarding reciprocity of continuing education credits.
Rutgers Graduate School of Applied & Professional Psychology is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Rutgers Graduate School of Applied & Professional Psychology maintains responsibility for this program and its content