Ethics of Weight Management for Mental Health Professionals

CPD

Faculty

Judith Matz, LCSW, ACSW Related seminars and products

---

Judith Matz, LCSW, ACSW, is a therapist, nationally recognized speaker, and consultant on the topics of diet culture, binge eating, emotional eating, body image, and weight stigma. She is co-author of the Emotional Eating, Chronic Dieting, Binge Eating and Body Image Workbook, Beyond a Shadow of a Diet: The Comprehensive Guide to Treating Binge Eating Disorder, Emotional Eating, and Chronic Dieting (3rd edition), The Diet Survivor’s Handbook, The Making Peace with Food Card Deck, and The Body Positivity Card Deck. Judith is dedicated to helping people get off the diet/binge rollercoaster and end the preoccupation with food and weight and to creating a world that treats all bodies with respect. She offers continuing education and training for professionals, as well as customized presentations for a variety of companies and organizations. Judith has a private practice via telehealth where she meets with clients seeking to heal their relationship with food and their bodies. She is a frequent contributor to the Psychotherapy Networker and has been featured in the media including NPR, The New York Times, LA Times, and Good Housekeeping.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Judith Matz is the director of The Chicago Center for Overcoming Overeating, Inc. and maintains a private practice. She receives royalties as a published author. Judith Matz receives a speaking honorarium, recording, and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Judith Matz is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and the Association for Size Diversity and Health.

Additional Info

Access never expires for this product.

Objectives

1. Name two assumptions about weight in the mental health field.
2. Evaluate the psychological and behavioral impacts of weight stigma.
3. Examine how weight management interventions may cause harm.
4. Identify three alternative responses to potential weight-related ethical violations.

Outline

Potential Harm of Weight Management Strategies

First, Do No Harm

• Health, self-esteem, attractiveness and other reasons clients wish to lose weight
• Fact-checking the weight = health connection
• How weight stigma causes harm
• Overview of the research on diet failure
• Physiology of weight loss
• Impact of weight cycling and the binge-diet cycle
• GLP 1’s for weight loss and outcomes
• Shame and other impacts of weight loss prescriptions

Weight Stigma as an Ethical Issue

Clients Should Try to Lose Weight … Right?

• Traditional beliefs about weight and body size
• Origins of fat phobia
• Impact of weight-related assumptions on assessment and treatment
• Weight stigma and discrimination as a violation of ethical standards
• How to identify and unlearn implicit weight stigma

Ethical Alternatives to Weight Loss Interventions in Clinical Practice

Evidence-Based Care for Weight Concerns in Treatment

• Autonomy and informed consent
• Weight-inclusive practice that values body size diversity
• Clinical implementation of research on weight, health, and sustainable behaviors
• Improve health regardless of whether weight loss occurs
• A holistic approach to improving weight-related distress
• Attuned and intuitive eating to improve the body relationship
• Resources: Health at Every Size® and weight-inclusive care guidelines
• When and how to refer to a specialist
• Scope of practice issues
• Limitations of the research and potential risks
• Case examples

Target Audience

• Counsellors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Psychiatrists
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Addiction Counsellors
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals