Join us for a free, virtual training, hosted in partnership with Banyan Treatment Centers, for more insight into military and veteran culture and how this population is impacted by disordered eating. Our experts will define what a veteran is, how training and life in the military can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food and/or exercise, as well as uncover the effects of military trauma and how it can contribute to eating disorders. Real life experiences and the impacts they have had on veterans’ lives will be provided throughout the training. We invite clinical providers to join us for more insight into how to make your treatment approach more veteran-friendly and how to build trust within this unique population.
Learning Objectives:
Attendees will be able to identify a veteran and three characteristics of a veteran.
Attendees will learn at least two ways to create a veteran friendly space.
Attendees will understand the veteran mindset and how to tap into it to aid in the treatment of an eating disorder.
Attendees will understand how military culture can influence a veterans relationship with food and exercise.
**Please note, this is a free community training, not a continuing education event. No CE credits will be offered for attendance to this event.
Rachel Morales, LCSW is a Suicide Prevention Specialist with the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 12 Clinical Resource Hub with the Department of Veterans Affairs. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago with her Masters of Social Work. She was previously the Eating Disorder Team Lead for the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital’s Multidisciplinary Eating Disorder Treatment Team. She was a founding member of the Eating Disorder Treatment Team and oversaw the development of a robust eating disorder program which includes diagnostic assessments, individual and group psychotherapy, nutrition therapy, and psychiatry services. She has consulted on eating disorder clinical and program development issues on the local, VISN, and National VA levels.
Michael Urban, LCSW is a Business Development Representative for Veteran and Military Affairs at Banyan Treatment Center. He has worked in all levels of care in the addiction field and has built a private practice where he works with individuals who suffer from co-occurring eating and substance use disorders. Towards the beginning of 2020, he founded and ran a program for Veterans and First Responders, to assist circumstances resulting from COVID-19. Michael has implemented a Veteran’s program at Banyan and believes in helping establish relationships with veterans’ hospitals across the country. Michael is a Veteran in recovery.