The ECED 2023 program committee has established a draft program for the 21-23 September conference in Leiden, the Netherlands. The committee has decided on the topics of the plenary sessions and symposia, but not yet on all the presenters or speakers! If you think you are well suited to speak on one of the suggested topics, we would very much like to hear from you (don’t be shy!). Presentations will be 15 or 20 minutes each. Ideally, we are looking for colleagues who can integrate both research results and clinical experience. We would like to include and present European diversity in our presenters and presentations. Please send us an email with your name, affiliation, contact information and a title and paragraph about the topic you would like to contribute to: ecedleiden2023@rivierduinen.nl. Just to be transparent: none of the presenters at ECED are being reimbursed for their contribution to the conference. All pay the registration fee and their travel and accommodation arrangements.

The topics

One symposium will be about different aspects of binge eating disorder (BED). Contributions related to BED and obesity/bariatric surgery, body image, ADHD/addiction and BED in youth are especially welcome.

We invite attendees to submit abstracts for presentations that explore the relationship between eating disorders and comorbidity. The purpose of the symposium is to present results of scientific studies as well as clinical experiences with a specific focus on the question of what to treat first and how. Examples of types of comorbidity that may be relevant are PTSD, ADHD, ASD, Depression, Personality Disorders or Addiction.

Attendees are invited to submit abstracts for presentations on nutrition in the treatment of eating disorders. In everyday clinical practice therapists are confronted with trends in eating patterns, diets and specific requirements. To date this is a challenge. The purpose of the symposium is to present results of scientific studies and clinical experiences on the subjects of weight restoration optimization; vegan/plant-based eating patterns; nutrition for athletes, or other professions requiring a specific appearance or body shape, and disordered eating patterns; nutrition and bariatric surgery; or related topics.

Attendees are invited to submit abstracts for presentations for a symposium titled “What about therapist health? Trauma and helplessness”. Therapists working with patients with eating disorders are confronted with severely ill patients and very concerned families. Therapists often have to make difficult decisions in triaging, diagnosing and treating eating disorder patients.
The purpose of the symposium is to present clinical experiences from the perspective of the therapist on acknowledging and dealing with feelings of helplessness that come with the job. We encourage presenters to share about the difficulties that come with working in the field and what has helped them to cope with this.