The Eating and Weight Concerns Program works alongside two teams in the hospital:
- The Donald Delaney Eating Disorders Program at Children’s National Hospital is part of the Division of Adolescent Medicine and includes both outpatient and inpatient services for children with eating disorder diagnoses. Presenting issues include malnutrition due to caloric restriction, compensatory behaviors, medical complications due to malnutrition and compensatory behaviors, body image disturbances, family adjustment to treatment and diagnosis, nonadherence to treatment and behavioral problems.
- The Improving Diet, Energy and Activity for Life (IDEAL) Clinic provides weight management intervention to youth ages 6-22 in the Department of Pediatrics. Patients are commonly referred for psychological support related to binge eating or loss of control eating, hyperphagia, eating in the absence of hunger (emotion or boredom driven) or difficulties related to weight stigma.
There is a high rate of co-morbid anxiety, depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in each of these populations. Both teams include physicians, dietitians, social workers and advanced care providers.
The externship consists of:
- Clinical assessment of disordered eating and co-morbid concerns
- Clinical training in providing eating disorder treatment (up to 4 patients) utilizing:
- Clinical training in delivering intensive health behavior and lifestyle treatment for obesity
- Co-leading group therapy programs
- Consultation team meetings for multidisciplinary care
Externs will also have the opportunity to participate in research focused on eating disorder assessment, diagnosis and treatment among a largely racial and ethnic minority population of patients.
