ARNP challenges in the treatment of eating disorders
Recorded April 25, 2026
At the University of Washington, South Campus, Seattle, WA 98195
Registration Fees
- Clinical, Emeritus, and Out-of-State Members – $90 + tax
- Student Members – $60 + tax
- Non-members – $110 +tax
Our Partner
We are proud to partner once again with the University of Washington School of Nursing for this in-person and recorded workshop.
University of Washington School of Nursing preceptors, if you have problems registering with your coupon code, please email Chris Crosser at gro.nppaa@sirhc.
Continuing Education
Up to 5.50 ANCC contact hours, including 4.50 pharmacotherapeutic contact hours, will be available.
Program
Explore up-to-date research and expand your knowledge of treatment options for clients with eating disorders.
Through this in-depth look at evidence-based research and practical realities of treating eating disorders in everyday clinical settings, you will:
- Examine current pharmacotherapy across the eating disorder spectrum.
- Learn techniques to identify and problem-solve for antifat bias.
- Discover concrete tools to deliver compassionate, evidence-based, and individualized eating disorder care.
Sessions
“Pharmacological treatment of eating disorders: Evidence, practice, and controversies”
Featuring Wendy Lendrum, MN, ARNP, PMHNP
Eating disorders carry the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness, yet pharmacological treatment options remain remarkably limited.
This presentation provides a comprehensive, evidence-based review of current pharmacotherapy across the eating disorder spectrum. We’ll examine both FDA-approved agents and off-label options supported by clinical trial data.
Participants will learn to identify which patient populations are most likely to benefit from medication, how to select and sequence pharmacological interventions, and how to monitor for early treatment response—a key predictor of sustained remission.
Beyond summarizing current evidence, this session will critically examine the major controversies shaping clinical practice. Through interactive case-based discussions, participants will apply evidence to complex clinical scenarios, including treatment-resistant patients, adolescents, medically unstable individuals, and those with psychiatric comorbidities.
Attendees will leave with practical strategies for navigating these controversies while engaging patients in shared decision-making about the realistic benefits and limitations of pharmacotherapy as an adjunct to psychotherapy.
Session Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Summarize the current FDA-approved and evidence-based pharmacological options for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder, including their relative efficacy and limitations.
- Identify patient populations most likely to benefit from pharmacotherapy, including predictors of treatment response and optimal timing for medication initiation.
- Evaluate current controversies in eating disorder pharmacotherapy, including the role of olanzapine in anorexia nervosa, stimulant use in binge eating disorder, weight loss as a treatment outcome, and emerging GLP-1 receptor agonist data.
- Apply evidence-based pharmacological strategies to complex clinical scenarios, including treatment-resistant patients, adolescents, medically unstable individuals, and those with psychiatric comorbidities.
- Develop a shared decision-making approach that communicates realistic expectations about the benefits and limitations of pharmacotherapy as an adjunct to psychotherapy.
About the speaker
Wendy Lendrum, MN, ARNP, PMHNP, has more than a decade of experience in the dual specialization of mental health and primary care. Currently providing direct psychiatric care at the University of Washington Counseling Center and in private practice, she is an expert in integrating the psychosocial and biological dimensions of health to provide comprehensive, patient-centered care.
Wendy is a proven leader in collegiate mental health and specialized eating disorder treatment. When she isn’t in the clinic, Wendy is an avid runner, a mom, and is currently navigating the “work in progress” phase of sourdough bread making.
“From bias to best practice: Using evidence and experience for weight inclusive mental health care”
Featuring Megan Riddle, MS, MD, PhD
Antifat bias is prevalent across medicine, negatively impacting our ability to provide equitable mental health care for patients in all sizes of bodies.
Antifat bias has an adverse impact on physical and mental health outcomes. It negatively impacts patient care by perpetuating misdiagnosis and inadequate treatment of people in larger bodies. It also leads to avoidance and distrust of providers, as well as moral distress and negative work environment.
In this session, we will take a deep dive into the impact of size bias and antifat in medicine and psychiatry. We’ll also examine our own bias around weight.
Mental health clinicians in practice and training have a unique role in this space. We care for patients with complex mental and medical illnesses that impact health and weight while striving to practice in inclusive and holistic, biopsychosocially-informed ways.
The majority of medical training focuses on the treatment of size diversity with medical weight loss, rather than the negative impact of weight-bias on the healthcare experience and relationship or relationship to psychiatric disease.
Explore techniques to identify and problem-solve for antifat bias in our practice, our institutions, and ourselves.
Session Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Identify personal antifat bias and describe how it might impact your practice.
- Give examples of the impact of antifat bias in the mental health system.
- Identify steps to combat weight stigma in mental health, and promote equity for our trainees, our patients, and ourselves.
About the speaker
Megan Riddle, MS, MD, PhD, is board-certified in both adult psychiatry and consult liaison psychiatry. She is the medical director at the Eating Recovery Center and Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center in Seattle. She is currently a Courtesy Clinical Instructor with the University of Washington Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and enjoys teaching.
Dr. Riddle’s particular interests are inclusivity in eating disorder research and supporting historically marginalized individuals in accessing evidence-based eating disorder treatments.
“Effective eating disorder treatment: What helps, what hurts, and when to escalate care”
Featuring Marissa Parsons, DMSc, PA-C, CAQ-Psych, CEDS
Eating disorders are serious, complex illnesses that require more than diagnosis or medication management alone. Effective treatment depends on coordinated, evidence-based care that integrates medical monitoring, nutritional rehabilitation, behavioral intervention, and meaningful support systems.
This session focuses on what truly moves recovery forward, with an emphasis on individualized treatment and strong multidisciplinary alignment. Drawing from clinical leadership experience across adolescent and adult levels of care, we’ll explore the practical realities of treating eating disorders in everyday clinical settings.
Participants will examine the distinct and complementary roles of medical providers, registered dietitians, and therapists; the central role of exposure in recovery; developmentally informed and neurodivergence-aware approaches; and the thoughtful use of medical data, including weight trends and vital signs. Common clinical missteps, such as over-reliance on insight or delayed escalation of care, will be addressed with practical guidance.
The session will also clarify key decision points, including when to recommend higher levels of care, when hospitalization is indicated, when to involve family or external systems of support, and when ongoing treatment may no longer be appropriate.
By discussing realistic recovery timelines and strategies for supporting patients and families through non-linear progress, participants will leave with concrete tools to deliver compassionate, evidence-based, and individualized eating disorder care.
Session Objectives
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Describe the essential components of evidence-based, multidisciplinary eating disorder treatment and the distinct roles of medical providers, registered dietitians, and therapists.
- Apply principles of individualized and developmentally informed care, including neurodivergence-aware approaches, to treatment planning and goal setting.
- Identify clinical indicators that warrant escalation of care, including hospitalization, higher levels of care, family involvement, or ethical discontinuation of treatment.
- Support patients and families through exposure-based recovery while setting realistic expectations for non-linear treatment timelines.
About the speaker
Marissa Parsons, DMSc, PA-C, CAQ-Psych, CEDS, is a Psychiatric Physician Associate and the Medical Director of Recovery and Wellness Center of Eastern Washington in the Tri-Cities, where she oversees adolescent and adult eating disorder treatment across Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient levels of care.
Marissa works closely with multidisciplinary teams to translate evidence-based treatment into practical, patient-centered systems that support real recovery. A mother of four, her clinical interests and publications include the intersection of eating disorders and neurodivergence, with an emphasis on developmentally informed, individualized care.
Support Future PMHNPs
Speakers at our events often forego speaker fees for the option that AAPPN will make a donation in their name to the Lois Price Spratlen Foundation.
For this Master Class, AAPPN is making a $500 donation in the name of speaker Wendy Lendrum. Our Education Committee urges workshop participants to make a donation of any amount toward matching that donation.
You can make a donation when you register or donate directly to the Lois Price Spratlen Foundation.
Exhibitors
Be sure to visit our exhibitors! They help make our Master Class possible.
Continuing Education
This nursing continuing professional development activity was approved by Oregon Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Approval valid through 04/25/2028. OCEAN ID #2026-13
Upon approval, attendees may earn up to 5.50 ANCC contact hours, including 4.50 pharmacotherapeutic hours.
Video Recording
The link to the video recording will be sent to everyone who registered for the Master Class, including those who registered for the in-person event.
Thank you to Magnus Media Group Video Production for providing AAPPN with a discounted rate on video production for this workshop.