The 17th annual conference of The Australia & New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders was held on 23-24 August 2019 at the Adelaide Convention Centre, Adelaide, Australia. 70 Oral papers and 14 Posters were presented following review of the Scientific Committee chaired by Dr. Tracey Wade and Dr Randall Long, and are published in this supplement. Over 370 delegates attended the conference
Keynote talks were by Professor Ulrike Schmidt, Professor of Eating Disorders and Head of the Department of Psychological Medicine at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London (KCL) on Novel brain directed treatments in anorexia nervosa and Professor Peter McEvoy, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the School of Psychology, Curtin University, Australia on The use of imagery in psychotherapy for emotional disorders: the state of the art and evidence.
The conference also involved:
o Two Plenaries on Family-based Treatment and Beyond (Presenters: Andrew Wallis; Kim Hurst; Marion Roberts and Libby Hughes) and Risk Factors in the Development of Eating Disorders (Presenters: Sarah Cohen-Woods, Laura Hart, Marika Tiggeman and Susan Paxton).
o Six pre-conference workshops on a variety of topics - First Episode Rapid Early Intervention for Eating Disorders (FREED): a novel service model for young people with early stage illness: Why, what and how? by Professor Ulrike Schmidt; Enhancing outcomes by integrating imagery-based techniques throughout CBT for eating disorders by Dr Peter McEvoy & Dr Bronwyn Raykos; Fundamentals of Treating Eating Disorder in Future Private Practice by Dr Beth Shelton, Dr Randall Long & Professor Tracey Wade, Linsey Atkins (facilitator); Advance competencies for treatment of eating disorders in private practice by Chris Thornton & Mandy Goldstein; Medical Stabilisation for Paediatric Patients by Jemma Anderson, Mandy Yiu, Sandy Bridgland & Emma Dunning and Integrating Body Image Interventions with Dietetic Practice by Beth Shelton & Michelle Roberton
o In addition 12 in-conference workshops addressed a range of clinical and practical themes.
o The conference concluded with the ANZAED Awards this year.