More Than a Diagnosis: Eating Identity & Therapeutic Support
About
This training supports therapists and other mental health professionals in working with adults experiencing eating disorders and eating distress. We’ll cover the most prevalent DSM-5 diagnoses, explore disordered eating patterns, and look at how food and body image can be used to manage emotional pain, trauma, and relational stress.You’ll learn about the links between eating, self-worth, shame, and identity, and how cultural messages around control, appearance, and safety shape our relationship with food and our bodies. We’ll also explore key statistics, medical risks, and NICE guidelines—highlighting how to recognise when eating distress may pose serious physical health risks and require safeguarding action or medical referral.
The course offers practical therapeutic tools through a relational lens, including Transactional Analysis models that help make sense of how symptoms show up in everyday life. You’ll leave with a deeper understanding of how to support clients with compassion, clarity, and cultural awareness.
The workshop is for counsellors, psychotherapists or any mental health professional who support adults with food and body related issues.
As the training will cover therapeutic interventions, participants will need to be qualified to work therapeutically with adults with eating issues.
The course takes place online on Zoom over 3 Saturdays: 18 April 2026, 16 May 2026 and 20 June 2026. 9.30am - 4.30pm.
About the trainer: Debbie Thomson
Debbie is a UKCP-accredited Transactional Analysis Integrative Psychotherapist (Level 6, working towards Level 7) and a trainee Imago Therapist (due to certify by December 25). Before training as a therapist, Debbie worked in both NHS and voluntary sector mental health services for almost 18 years, where she developed a strong interest in supporting adults experiencing eating disorders and eating distress. She brings a particular enthusiasm for teaching, group process, and creating inclusive spaces for reflection and learning.
Date
Saturday 18 April 2026 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM (UTC+00)Location
Online event access details will be provided by the event organiser