As part of our transition to a new membership platform, all active members must ensure that the email address associated with their Online Institute account matches the email address on their membership account. Matching email addresses are required to automatically receive member discounted pricing on eligible courses and events.
If you need to update your account information or have any questions, please contact us at information@iaedpfoundation.com or continuingeducation@iaedpfoundation.com
The rapid expansion in the use of GLP-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1s), including medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide, is reshaping the landscape of eating disorder treatment. Originally developed for diabetes management, GLP-1s are now widely prescribed for weight loss and other metabolic conditions, placing eating disorder clinicians at the intersection of two evolving fields. As more clients present on these medications, sometimes prior to treatment, sometimes while actively engaged in care, providers are confronted with new clinical, ethical, and therapeutic challenges.
This panel brings together experienced professionals across nutrition and psychiatry to examine the complex realities of GLP-1 use in eating disorder populations. The session will explore how these medications influence appetite, digestion, interoception, and reward circuitry, and how these effects interact with existing eating disorder symptoms and recovery goals. Particular attention will be paid to the complications GLP-1s pose for nutritional adequacy, hunger and satiety cues, and emotional and behavioral regulation.
Panelists will present clinical examples, outcomes data, and emerging research to unpack both the risks and possible benefits of GLP-1s, including their role in food-related cognition, mood, and co-occurring substance use disorders. The discussion will also address the sociocultural forces such as weight stigma, provider pressure, and moralized health messaging that contribute to client ambivalence and lack of disclosure of GLP-1 use.
Emphasis will be placed on practical strategies for interdisciplinary collaboration, respectful engagement with prescribers, and client-centered care planning that balances medical realities with recovery-oriented goals. The panel will offer concrete tools for risk assessment, therapeutic dialogue, and harm reduction for clients with a history of disordered eating, as well as guidance for navigating the mental health impacts and ethical tensions raised by these medications. This session does not offer a blanket endorsement or condemnation of GLP-1s. Rather, it invites clinicians to meet this moment with nuance, curiosity, and clinical rigor.