Opening Remarks

A long-view clinical perspective on what has changed, what remains difficult, and what decades of practice can teach us about progress and uncertainty.

A behind-the-scenes conversation with Dr. Mehler and an opportunity to take a short break before the next session.

Practice discussing uncertainty with patients, responding to requests for low-evidence treatments, avoiding both reflexive paternalism and uncritical consumerism, and documenting shared decisions when reasonable clinicians may disagree.

Take a break, visit the nonprofit spotlight, or reflect on the case you brought to the conference.

Audience polling and multidisciplinary formulation of complex cases that do not fit neatly into a single diagnostic category. Expect competing hypotheses, evolving clinical information, and practical treatment decisions.

Take a true break, visit the family and caregiver spotlight, or compare the case lab with your Crossroads Case Scan.

Clinical decision-making for patients considering or already taking GLP-1 medications, with a focus on screening, nutrition risk, eating disorder history, body image, meal planning, multidisciplinary care, and adapting treatment as clinical circumstances change.

A behind-the-scenes conversation and transition into the day's final plenary session.

A structured look at the forces reshaping behavioral health care, including patient demand, cross-diagnostic complexity, emerging treatments, digital culture, and evidence that cannot always keep pace.

Closing of day 1.

Reconnect to the conference learning goals and build on the insights from Day 1 as you prepare for another day of practical, case-based learning.

Explore real-world cases involving patients who are often under-recognized, underdiagnosed, or underserved. Learn how developmental stage, culture, identity, body size, and health care systems should influence assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning.

Work through complex cases involving overlapping mental health conditions and competing treatment priorities. Focus on determining what should be addressed first, what should be treated simultaneously, and when greater multidisciplinary coordination is needed.

Learn how Project HEAL is reducing barriers to eating disorder treatment while taking a short break between sessions.

Examine challenging cases involving treatment refusal, partial engagement, family conflict, stalled progress, and safety concerns. Learn when to adapt the treatment plan, persist with current interventions, escalate care, or rethink the clinical approach.

Take a break and learn about Rock Recovery's work supporting individuals and families impacted by eating disorders.

Apply a practical decision-making framework for evaluating emerging treatments and innovations when patient demand, clinical enthusiasm, and marketplace adoption outpace established evidence and guidelines.

Take a short break while learning about advocacy efforts and resources that support individuals and families affected by eating disorders.

Explore real-world scenarios involving artificial intelligence, social media, patient-facing technologies, privacy, professional boundaries, and digital influence. Gain practical strategies for responding to technologies that are already shaping patient experiences and clinical care.

What Will You Do Differently?

Conclude the conference by identifying one meaningful change you will make in your own practice, reflecting on key takeaways, and considering where continued learning can strengthen your clinical decision-making.

Eating disorders can have lasting effects on bone health, especially in children, adolescents, and young adults. Learn how to identify low bone density, explore current treatment approaches, and examine when medication may, or may not, be appropriate.

Certain neurodiverse traits can influence how ARFID presents and responds to treatment. Through real patient cases, explore practical CBT-AR and nutrition strategies and learn how therapists and dietitians work together to provide effective, multidisciplinary care.

Discover the landmark research that transformed our understanding of eating disorders and shaped the evidence-based treatments clinicians rely on today.

Patients are asking about treatments that aren’t always covered in medical school. Learn a practical framework for discussing topics like GLP-1s, ketamine, psychedelics, AI, metabolic psychiatry, and more while balancing current evidence, patient preferences, and clinical uncertainty.

What have we learned from 10 years of virtual IOP? Explore best practices, common challenges, patient outcomes, and how to determine which patients are the best fit for virtual treatment.

AI is changing the way patients seek information and how clinicians deliver care. Explore the opportunities, risks, and ethical considerations of using AI and other digital tools in behavioral health practice.

Nutrition can influence both mental health symptoms and treatment outcomes. Learn evidence-based strategies for supporting patients with depression, anxiety, ADHD, and eating disorders while addressing nutrition misinformation online, weight restoration, and long-term recovery.

GLP-1 medications are becoming increasingly common in psychiatric care, and they aren’t going anywhere. Learn evidence-based approaches to screening, risk assessment, collaborative treatment planning, and long-term monitoring for patients receiving GLP-1 therapy.

Bipolar disorders and eating disorders often overlap, making diagnosis and treatment more complex. Through real-world cases, we’ll explore how these conditions interact across the lifespan and gain evidence-based strategies for integrated care, including psychopharmacology, psychotherapy, nutritional rehabilitation, and multidisciplinary collaboration.

Athletes face unique mental health challenges that can make eating disorders harder to recognize. Learn to identify the warning signs of disordered eating and explore evidence-based, multidisciplinary strategies that support recovery, reintegration into sport, and long-term well-being.

Treatment for young children works best when it reflects their stage of development. But how do we actually put that into practice? Explore how development influences assessment and treatment, and learn practical, evidence-based strategies to better support children and their caregivers.

Perimenopause and menopause cause significant changes in the body that increase vulnerability for disordered eating. We’ll explore the intersection of perimenopause/menopause and eating disorders, examining the impact of midlife transitions on nutrition, body image, and recovery.

Trauma shapes how patients experience treatment. Explore practical strategies for creating trauma-informed residential and PHP environments that help your patient feel safe, and stay engaged throughout care.

Explore the core features of both eating disorders and OCD, and the implications of treating both. You’ll gain insight into assessment, conceptualization, and approaches for individuals with co-occurring symptoms.

Medication decisions become more challenging when eating disorders occur alongside other psychiatric conditions. Review evidence-based prescribing strategies, the role of deprescribing, and practical approaches to medication management through real clinical cases.

Eating disorders aren't always visible — and many people in higher-weight bodies go undiagnosed or undertreated. Explore the impact of weight stigma, ethical considerations in treatment, and practical, evidence-based strategies for providing patient-centered care across the weight spectrum.