About this course

Learning Objectives

• Describe core eating disorder nutrition principles that can help inform nutrition care for individuals with co-occurring medical conditions, and your references.
• Assess the impact of common medical comorbidities on nutrition assessment and intervention within eating disorder treatment.
• Apply counseling frameworks to design evidence-based medical nutrition therapy (MNT) strategies that balance co-occurring medical conditions with eating disorder recovery priorities.

Learning Levels

• All Levels

Target Audience

Course Instructor(s)

• 

  Shena Washburn, RDN, CD, CEDS-C

  Senior Director Clinical Nutrition and Culinary Services

  Shena Washburn is the Senior Director of Clinical Nutrition and Culinary Services at Accanto Health and The Emily Program. A registered dietitian since 2009, she brings over 16 years of experience specializing in nutrition, mental health, and eating disorder treatment with extensive clinical and leadership expertise. As a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and Consultant (CEDS-C) through IAEDP, Shena is a recognized leader in advancing the integration of nutrition and culinary services within eating disorder care. Known for her growth mindset, she continuously seeks innovative approaches to improve client care and optimize systems that support positive outcomes. She is committed to evidence-informed practice, multidisciplinary collaboration, and thoughtful program development. Shena is passionate about helping individuals cultivate balanced and sustainable relationships with food, movement, and their bodies. She also focuses on mentoring clinicians, advancing systems improvements, and fostering inclusive leadership within her teams. Her clinical interests include sports nutrition, digestive health, nutrition-focused physical exams, mindfulness-based interventions, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Outside of work, Shena enjoys dancing, gardening, and spending time with her two young children.

References

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• Dziewa, M. (2023). Eating disorders and diabetes mellitus: Facing the dual challenge. Journal of Eating Disorders, 11(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-023-00801-3
• Avila, J. T., Nguyen, D. M., & Laffel, L. M. B. (2019). Eating disorders in adolescents with chronic gastrointestinal and endocrine diseases. Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 69(2), 234–239. https://doi.org/10.1097/MPG.0000000000002463
• Yu, Z., & Wang, Y. (2023). Eating disorders and metabolic diseases. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), 2446. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20032446
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