Study Group
Searching for Self and Connection: Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Understanding and Treating Eating Disorders
Facilitated by Karen R. Strupp, PhD
5 Wednesdays
January 6 - March 3, 2021
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM CST

Zoom Presentation
*Pre-Registration required for Zoom invitation

Registration Fees
Active Members: $200
Friend Members: $225
Student Members: $100
Non-members: $250

7.5 CME/CEUs
*To receive CME/CEUs, you must attend at least 4 sessions.

When treating clients with an eating disorder, psychotherapists are faced with perplexing and high-stakes challenges, given that the disorder can result in serious health impairments and even death. According to one expert in the field, Jean Petrucelli, PhD, eating disorders are disorders of self and mutual regulation. Treatment invariably involves a complex negotiation between directly intervening in the symptom while simultaneously backing away from the pull to do so. Petrucelli has stated that a major goal of treatment is understanding what role the symptom plays in the client’s inner and interpersonal world. This study group is intermediate-level, intended for psychotherapists who have some knowledge about psychoanalytic theory and treatment, but who want to learn more about eating disorders. We will explore the etiologies, underlying dynamics, and psychoanalytic treatment considerations for eating disorders. The group is open to those who plan to attend the HPS conference presented by Petrucelli, as well as those who do not plan to do so. We will utilize readings by various authors, along with lecture and discussion. Registration is limited to a small enough group of participants to allow time for them to share and explore their own case material. Participants should obtain a copy of the textbook edited by Petrucelli in 2014, Body-States: Interpersonal and Relational Perspectives on the Treatment of Eating Disorders.

OBJECTIVES
  1. Describe 3 types of regulation deficits seen in clients with eating disorders.
  2. Explain how anorexia can involve unconscious defenses against maturity.
  3. Explain how hormones might relate to the onset of an eating disorder.
  4. Describe 2 body image problems seen in eating disorders.
  5. Describe the role of culture in the development and reinforcement of eating disorders.
  6. Describe the major family dynamics seen in clients with eating disorders.
  7. Explain how emotions can foster the movement from a compulsion to a choice.
  8. Describe the major dynamics seen in binge eating.
  9. Describe the possible indications for medication to help treat a client with an eating disorder.
  10. Describe the intergenerational transmission of embodiment and eating disorder.
Schedule/Syllabus
January 6, 2021
Body-States, Part I

January 20, 2021
Body-States, Part II

February 3, 2021
Body-States, Part III

February 17, 2021
Body-States, Part IV

March 3, 2021
Body-States, Part V
Facilitator
Karen R. Strupp, PhD is a clinical psychologist and adult and child psychoanalyst in private practice in Houston. She is a Training and Supervising Psychoanalyst on the faculty of the Center for Psychoanalytic Studies and a clinical adjunct professor in Baylor College of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Strupp co-authored a paper in 1988 on Sensory Integration of Body Image Distortion in Eating Disorder Patients and has taught and presented on treatment of eating disorders at high schools, at Baylor College of Medicine in the departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Adolescent Medicine, and on local radio and television. 
Houston Psychoanalytic Society
1302 Waugh Dr. #276, Houston, TX 77019
(713) 429-5810
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of American Psychoanalytic Association, Center for Psychoanalytic Studies, and Houston Psychoanalytic Society. The American Psychoanalytic Association is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The American Psychoanalytic Association designates this Live Activity for a maximum of 7.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. IMPORTANT DISCLOSURE INFORMATION FOR ALL LEARNERS: None of the planners and presenters of this CME program have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.

HPS, through co-sponsorship with the Center for Psychoanalytic Studies, also offers approved CEs for social workers, licensed professional counselors, and marriage and family therapists.