CEDS – Certified Eating Disorders Specialist, awarded by iaedp

iaedp™ - International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals 

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EATING DISORDERS CERTIFICATION

At this time* there is only one nationally recognized certification credential for eating disorders. This is issued by the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (iaedp™).

Official iaedp™ specialist designations include:

·  Certified Eating Disorders Specialist (CEDS), which applies to licensed therapists, medical doctors, and nurse practitioners;

·  Certified Eating Disorders Registered Dietitian (CEDRD), which applies to registered dietitians;

·  Certified Eating Disorders Registered Nurse (CEDRN), which applies to registered nurses;

·  And Certified Eating Disorders Creative Arts Therapist (CEDCAT), which applies to Music, Art, Recreation and Dance/Movement Therapists.

Iaedp™ core course content and comprehensive exam questions are compiled from both the leaders in the field and from evidenced-based research. Both are updated on a consistent basis. Multiple certification committee members review each application to assess if an applicant meets (or exceeds) requirements. Providers who qualify for the CEDS/RD/RN/CAT do so through one of two routes: Equivalency or Traditional.

Equivalency indicates that the professional meets a specific level of advanced education. Prior to applying, the candidate must have experienced at least five years/10,000 hours in treating eating disorders (as of 2018, the minimum was increased to seven years) and have a significant history of involvement in a number of the following:

·  Supervision of other eating disorders treatment professionals;

·  Presentations at eating disorder-related workshops, conferences, and events to include both professional and community speaking opportunities;

·  Authorship of books, book chapters, peer-reviewed or trade articles and consumer publications on eating disorders;

·  Academic affiliation and instruction in eating disorders, to include adjunct professorship, guest lecturer, or program coordinator for educational institutions;

·  Participation in eating disorders research;

·  Presence in the media as an eating disorder expert;

·  Appearance in the legislation and/or courts of law as an expert witness regarding eating disorders;

·  Volunteer work, community service, or similar experience that was related to or associated with the eating disorders treatment field;

·  And more.

CED-equivalency providers are also required to:

·  Attend at least fifty eating disorders continuing education hours in the five years before applying for the CEDS/RD/RN/CAT.

·  Submit three recommendation letters, specific to their work in the field of eating disorders, for committee review with their application.

·  Agree to abide by the iaedp™ Professional Code of Ethics Statement.

Customarily, Equivalency applicants have been exempt from having to take the comprehensive iaedp™ Final Certification Exam. Starting in June 2019, all CED applicants will be required to pass the test.

Traditional indicates that the professional meets a minimum level of advanced education and has:

·  Experienced 2,500 supervised patient care hours directly in the field of eating disorders by an iaedp™-Approved Supervisor. (This usually takes a minimum of two years of concentrated eating disorders experience.)

·  Provided a 1,500-word eating disorders case study reviewed by both their supervisor and the certification committee.

·  Completed the following iaedp™ Core Courses and passed each corresponding course exam:

·  Introduction to Eating Disorders;

·  Treatment Modalities of Eating Disorders;

·  Medical Aspects of Eating Disorders;

·  And Nutrition Guidelines for Treating Eating Disorders.

·  Recommended reading lists accompany these courses.

·  Passed the comprehensive iaedp™ Certification Exam.

All CED-traditional providers are required to:

·  Provide proof of 6-10 recent eating disorders continuing education courses attended before applying for the CEDS/RD/RN/CAT.

·  Submit three recommendation letters, specific to their work in the field of eating disorders, for committee review with their application.

·  Agree to abide by the iaedp™ Professional Code of Ethics Statement.

If awarded the CEDS/RD/RN/CAT, the certified professional must keep up with ongoing eating disorders-specific continuing education to maintain their CED-designation.

As you can see, this is a rigorous and standardized process.

OTHER EATING DISORDER DESIGNATIONS

When writing this article, we searched online for “eating disorder training programs” to find additional organizations and providers who offer certificates and certifications in eating disorders. Our Internet search provided a result of ten, ranging from community college-based to individual, therapist-created training programs.

Some of these less well-known courses may offer current and thorough training. For example, a number of the school programs we found might fulfill the iaedp™ Core Course requirement portion of the Traditional route. However, for the other training programs, we could not assuredly guess the levels of legitimacy or rigor from the information provided, the content did not seem mainstream, etc. Even as professionals, it was difficult to parse out potentially helpful trainings.

On that note, two increasingly recognized advanced eating disorder-related training programs of which we are aware deserve mention here:

·  Family-Based Treatment (FBT) has a certification program by the Training Institute for Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders for certification in that treatment specifically for eating disorders.

·  Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor by Intuitive Eating Pros focuses on teaching Intuitive Eating. Although, Intuitive Eating is not an eating disorder-specific certification, Intuitive Eating is often used in the treatment of eating disorders.

We were able to verify that these are considered training programs rooted in current best practices.

* March 21, 2019 - By Spotts-De Lazzer, LMFT, LPCC, and CEDS-S and Lauren Muhlheim, PsyD, FAED, CEDS-S