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UNC’s National Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders Launches Website

New site aims to train health care providers and improve eating disorder awareness among the public.

The National Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders (NCEED) at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill has launched the first phase of their new website, www.nceedus.org, aimed at the twin goals of training health care providers across disciplines in the evidence-based detection and management of eating disorders and improving eating disorder awareness among the public.

The site officially launched on February 25, 2019. The first phase includes resources for health care providers and the public as well as upcoming events and a place to sign up for forthcoming events and trainings. Subsequent phases of the NCEED program will include online trainings tailored for specific health care disciplines and interactive webinars.

“NCEED will equip health care providers with the skills to detect patients with eating disorders and provide them with appropriate, evidence-based care. In doing so, NCEED is a crucial part of the 21st Century Cures and Mental Health Reform Act and is poised to have significant impact on the ability for patients with eating disorders to receive the care they so desperately need,” says Christine M. Peat, PhD, an assistant professor of psychiatry in the UNC School of Medicine and NCEED Program Director.

The primary objectives for the NCEED website include the following:

• providing the most up-to-date information on strategies related to addressing eating disorders;

• promoting the public awareness of eating disorders; and

• establishing a national hub for the development and dissemination of eating disorders training for health care practitioners across disciplines

“NCEED is an amazing opportunity and responsibility. Our team is dedicated to becoming the trusted resource in the country for eating disorders information and clinician training,” says Cynthia Bulik, PhD, senior faculty member at NCEED.

Jean Doak, PhD, deputy director of NCEED, adds, “For too long there has been a deficit of consolidated training and education on eating disorders for many health care providers and the public at large. NCEED fills this gap by creating an easily accessible and relevant resource.”

NCEED was established in 2018 with a $3.75 million grant awarded to UNC by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

In addition to Peat, the NCEED leadership team incudes Jean Doak, PhD, a professor of psychiatry in the UNC School of Medicine and clinical director in the UNC Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders; Cynthia Bulik, PhD, FAED, founding director of the UNC Center of Excellence for Eating Disorders; and Melissa DeRosier, PhD, CEO of the 3C Institute—the web development organization partnering with UNC to develop NCEED and its web platform.

Source: University of North Carolina School of Medicine