When Do Eating Disorder Dietitians and Mental Health Professionals Refer to Each Other and Are We Doing the Best for Our Patients?

Lauren Osborne Cooper, MCN, RD, LD

Rachel Cohen, RD, LD, MCN

Eating disorder treatment guidelines all specify that both a dietitian and a mental health professional are essential players on the eating disorder treatment team. But when an individual patient seeks care from only one provider, there are no guidelines for when or how that provider should refer the patient to the other discipline.

In an effort to develop guidelines based on best practices, Lauren Osborne Cooper and Rachel Englander Cohen surveyed eating disorder specialists on when and why they make referrals. In this webinar, they will report the surprising the findings of their research on when eating disorder specialist dietitians refer to mental health professionals and vice versa.

Lauren Osborne Cooper, MSN, RD, LD- Lauren attended Furman University where she played tennis on scholarship and graduated with a degree in Communication Studies. Her experience as a student athlete set the foundation for her interest in pursuing a career in dietetics as she was able to better understand the importance of a nutritious, balanced lifestyle. Lauren completed the Master of Clinical Nutrition program at UT Southwestern in August 2014, where she received the Dr. Gordon Green Clinician Award, a dean's award, for the School of Health Professions at UT Southwestern. She has a strong interest in working with eating disorder/disordered eating patients, which led her to focus her master's research project in the area of eating disorders. She currently works as an inpatient clinical dietitian at UT Southwestern in Dallas, TX.

Rachel Cohen, RD, LD, MCN -Rachel earned a BS in Education with a degree in Community Health from the University of Kansas and a Master's degree in Clinical Nutrition from UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas. She is a Registered Dietitian with the Commission on Dietetic Registration Rachel recently accepted a job with Discovery for Discovery in April 2015 and is working in Houston at their intensive outpatient center. She provides one-on-one nutrition counseling and meal support for adolescents and adults with eating disorders.

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For consideration for elevated membership status as a Fellow of iaedp, candidates' collective contributions over time will be evaluated. Guidelines identify but are not exclusive to iaedp members of seven continuous years or more who have been in practice for a minimum of 15 years, are preferably Certified Eating Disorder Specialists and have demonstrated accomplishment and participation in the field through activities such as teaching, presentations, training, research, writing and innovative community projects. Each honoree will receive a special certificate of recognition and Fellow Members may include "F. iaedp" with his or her credentials. Award nominations and Fellow of iaedp applications are encouraged from members through forms provided online. More information here

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