Family Based Therapy (FBT) is an evidence-based eating disorder specific outpatient treatment first developed at the Maudsley Hospital in London in the 1980’s with further development in the USA (Stanford and Chicago) in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. A treatment manual was published in 2002 enabling FBT to be disseminated outside of these development sites. FBT is the current recommended first line treatment for adolescents with AN and first became available in Australia in 2003 at The Children’s Hospital, Westmead.

FBT integrates concepts from a number of family therapy models in a developmentally sensitive framework and holds the basic premise that parents are the best resource to help their child recover from anorexia nervosa. The treatment is organised around three treatment phases across 12 months. FBT commences with a focus on parental leadership of the young person’s nutritional recovery and finishes with a focus on adolescent issues. The treatment is suitable for adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa with a short course of illness.

Workshop Content: The aim of this workshop is to provide intensive practical training in the application of this model including:

• Theoretical background, framework and the role of the multidisciplinary team
• Detailed description of treatment phases, key sessions and the therapeutic process
• Discussion of clinical issues and processes to enable successful implementation
• Video demonstration to help develop participants micro skill development

Day 1 and 2 will cover all aspects of the model.

At the completion of the workshop participants will have a good working knowledge of the model and will be able to consider using FBT in their clinical setting.

It is expected that clinicians attending will have:

• Professional training and skills in child and adolescent mental health care.
• Knowledge and experience with adolescent eating disorders.
• Previous experience working with families is an advantage

Speaker: Dr Andrew Wallis is a Clinical Social Worker and Family Therapist. He has been working with adolescents and their families for more than 25 years. He is currently Co-lead of the Eating Disorder Service at Sydney Children’s Hospital Network – a tertiary service in Sydney, Australia. In 2003 with colleagues at The Children’s Hospital, Westmead, he established the first Family-Based Therapy program in Australia, and Multiple Family therapy for Anorexia Nervosa in 2014. He has been providing training, consultation and supervision in Australia and New Zealand for more than 15 years, helping to support public and private services to implement family therapy approaches to adolescent problems. Andrew has also been involved in FBT research with more than 25 peer reviewed papers and book chapters including his PhD research on the impact of Family Based Therapy on family relationships.

Location & Parking

Northside Conference Centre is ideally located in the heart of Crows Nest, Cnr Oxley St & Pole Ln Crows Nest NSW 2065, the café and restaurant centre of the North Shore. We are a convenient 5-minute walk from St Leonards train station and across the street from a multi-storey car park. On the corner of Oxley St and Pole Lane in Crows Nest is where the GPS will take you, then proceed 30m up Pole Lane to our main entry via the sandstone steps.

On-street Parking

On-street parking near the Centre is generally metered parking (2P or less) with strictly enforced regulations. If an area is marked as ‘No Parking’ or ‘Private Parking’ we request that all attending a function here, respect the rights of others and honour the parking restrictions.

Parking

The Hume Street Car Park is located directly across from the Northside Conference Centre. There are three additional parking stations run by North Sydney Council, all in close proximity to Northside which are: Holtermann Street, Nicholson Street and Alexander Street. Early bird rates apply at these stations so don’t forget to validate your ticket at the parking station on arrival. See the North Sydney Council website for rates.

Public Transport

There are several bus routes from the city and further North or West that stop in Crows Nest and/or St Leonards.
St Leonards also boasts a well appointed train station on the Northern Line. Northside is then only a 5-minute walk from both centres.