BodyMatters is delighted to provide a variety of professional development courses. All courses receive a certificate of attendance including CPD hours completed. Most of these training courses will be delivered via Zoom and are therefore accessible to anyone in Australia- however please click the hyperlinks for more information. We always have more courses pending – watch this space!

The upcoming events at BodyMatters include:

Sep
15
Mon
2025
Eating Disorders and Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery @ Onine, Zoom
Sep 15 @ 9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Dr Carmel Harrison, a Clinical Psychologist and Mari Harrison, an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician present a one day workshop on Eating Disorders and Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery. | Zoom, Monday 15 September 2025 9AM to 4PM AEST

Location: Via Zoom
Date: Monday 15 September 2025
Time: 9AM to 4PM AEST
Price: $451 ($400 + GST + TryBooking Processing Fee)

Register Now

About the course:

Many people who have undergone or are considering Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery also struggle with disordered eating and in the absence of any specific training eating disorder clinicians may be struggling with questions like: How do you assess for eating disorders following Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery? What is dumping syndrome? Slider foods? Plugging? How might cognitive behavioural therapy change? What does ‘normal’ eating look like post Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery? Should their eating disorder have been treated before the surgery?

 

Workshop objectives:

  1. To gain knowledge around Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, distinguishing different surgery types (gastric bypass, gastric sleeve, and gastric banding) and understanding the mechanisms of weight loss involved with these procedures.
  2. To develop an awareness of the nuance around eating disorders and Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: Is it loss of control eating or reactive hypoglycaemia? Is it starvation syndrome or silent reflux?
  3. To understand diagnosis of eating disorders post Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and limitations within the current literature around diagnosis and assessment measures commonly used to assess eating disorders.
  4. Review the evidence base around the impact of disordered eating on outcomes in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and the evidence base for treatment interventions.
  5. Understand how cognitive behavioural therapy may be adapted or enhanced following Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

This workshop is multidisciplinary and open to psychologists, dietitians, mental health occupational therapists and general practitioners. It is assumed clinicians are trained in eating disorder treatment as relevant to their discipline. The course is designed as an introduction to Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery where no prior training in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery has been completed previously.

 

About the presenters:

Mari Harrison
Mari is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician with over 25 years of experience in mental health, eating disorders, diabetes care, and Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. She has a keen interest in the intersection of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and eating disorders, dedicating her career to helping individuals with nutrition and eating behaviour concerns. As an educator, Mari enjoys sharing her knowledge and professional insights through workshops and webinars, empowering both her clients and fellow healthcare providers. Her unique combination of skills and knowledge in eating disorders and bariatric surgery makes her a trusted professional in the field.

 

Dr Carmel Harrison

Carmel is a Clinical Psychologist with a special interest in weight concerns, Binge Eating Disorder and Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Carmel has approximately ten year’s experience in private practice and completed her training at the Australian National University. She holds a Clinical PhD in Binge Eating Disorder and has published a number of academic journal articles on Binge Eating Disorder, and disordered eating more broadly. She is a Credentialed Eating Disorder Clinician (CEDC) and a member of the Australian New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders and the Australian and New Zealand Metabolic and Obesity Surgery Society. Additionally, Carmel is a board approved supervisor and offers training workshops and webinars.

 

Cancellation policy and disclaimer:

Please be aware of our cancellation policy and disclaimer, which is available here.

Register Here

 

Oct
31
Fri
2025
Family Based Therapy for Adolescents: A Special Form of Family Therapy with an Eating Disorder Focus Two-Day Advanced Workshop @ Via Zoom
Oct 31 @ 9:00 am – Nov 1 @ 4:30 pm

Andrew Wallis presents a 2 day workshop on Family Based Therapy for Adolescents: A Special Form of Family Therapy with an Eating Disorder Focus. | Zoom, Friday 31 October to Saturday 01 November 2025, 9AM to 4:30PM AEDT

Location: Via Zoom, Link to be provided prior to the event.
Date & Time: Friday 31 October to Saturday 01 November 2025, 9AM to 4:30PM AEDT
Pricing: $891
 (GST & TryBooking Processing Fee included)

Register Now

About the Course:

Family Based Therapy (FBT) is an evidence-based eating disorder specific outpatient treatment first developed at the Maudsley Hospital in London in the 1980’s with further development in the USA (Stanford and Chicago) in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. FBT integrates concepts from a number of family therapy models in a developmentally sensitive framework and holds the basic premise that parents are the best resource to help their child recover from anorexia nervosa. 

While simple to understand, the clinical practice of FBT can often be a challenge for clinicians who want to maintain fidelity and respond to the individual family and the clinical complexities. 

This workshop is for mental health clinicians, experienced with FBT, who want to reflect on their practice and develop more advanced family therapy skills. In addition to the FBT principles the workshop will integrate systemic family therapy ideas to develop a strong focus on the therapy process, while also maintaining fidelity to the treatment structure and goals.

Workshop Content

Over the two days we will focus on – 

  • Establishing a secure base and relationship focus alongside the core principles.
  • Working with common in session dynamics such as parental discord, misattuned interactions, strong emotions, and poor participation.
  • Advanced interviewing skills that help parents and children to talk in session using questions, reflections and attuned responding.
  • Clinical issues and processes in the later phases of treatment

Pre-requisites:

It is expected that clinicians attending will have – 

  1. Experience implementing FBT 
  2. Professional training and skills in child and adolescent mental health care

 

 

About the presenter:
Dr Andrew Wallis
is a Clinical Social Worker and Family Therapist. He has been working with adolescents and their families for more than 25 years. He is currently Co-lead of the Eating Disorder Service at Sydney Children’s Hospital Network – a tertiary service in Sydney, Australia. In 2003 with colleagues at The Children’s Hospital, Westmead, he established the first Family-Based Therapy program in Australia, and Multiple Family therapy for Anorexia Nervosa in 2014. He has been providing training, consultation and supervision in Australia and New Zealand for more than 15 years, helping to support public and private services to implement family therapy approaches to adolescent problems. Andrew has also been involved in FBT research with more than 25 peer reviewed papers and book chapters including his PhD research on the impact of Family Based Therapy on family relationships.

 

Cancellation policy and disclaimer:

Please be aware of our cancellation policy and disclaimer, which is available here.

Family Based Therapy

Register Now