Hope and determination were key themes that emerged from the global Body Image and Related Disorders (BIRD) conference hosted by Orygen.
The fully booked conference drew an audience of 1000 attendees online, uniting leading local and international experts in the fields of body image and eating disorders, including keynote speaker Associate Professor Kamryn T. Eddy from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University.
Hosted by members of Orygen’s eating disorders team, Associate Professor Andrea Phillipou, Dr Stephanie Miles, and Dr Erica Neill, the event featured a stellar line up of speakers who presented research covering topics including residential care, identity in anorexia nervosa, psychedelic-psychotherapy, and carer supports.
(L-R) Dr Stephanie Miles, Dr Erica Neill, Associate Professor Andrea Phillipou
Andrea Phillipou, head of Orygen’s eating disorder research, said the conference provided an important platform for collaboration, knowledge-sharing and a call to action for continued research and support for young people and their carers who are living with eating disorders.
“Its success underscores Orygen’s leading role in advancing understanding, and fostering positive change in this critical field of youth mental health.”
Recapping some of the key highlights:
- Associate Professor Kamryn T. Eddy started the day with her presentation on understanding and targeting the drivers of undereating across restrictive eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). Kamryn and her team have also conducted research that suggests estrogen is low in anorexia nervosa and research is now investigating if estrogen can be administered as a treatment for eating disorders. She stressed that even after 25 years of experiencing an eating disorder, recovery is still possible.
- Professor Genevieve Pepin discussed the experiences of parents of taking their child with an eating disorder to the emergency department. The average wait time was 6.3 hours and many experiences were negative.
- Orygen’s Dr Erica Neill explained that although clinical trials are common in some mental health conditions such as schizophrenia, very few clinical trials are conducted for anorexia nervosa.
Watch their full presentations below.
Keynote speaker, Associate Professor Kamryn T. Eddy ‘Understanding and targeting mechanisms of undereating across restrictive eating disorders from anorexia nervosa to avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder.’
Professor Genevieve Pepin, School of Health and Social Development, Deakin University, Geelong. ‘Caring for someone with an eating disorder from the emergency to family-based therapy and everything in between.’
Dr Erica Neill, Orygen’s eating disorder research team. ‘An update on the clinical landscape in eating disorders.
If you would like to receive updates from our eating disorders team, email [email protected]