Upcoming
Information Sessions
Eating Disorders Families Australia’s (EDFA) National EDucation Program is accredited to the National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards.
Eating Disorders Families Australia delivers twice-monthly Information Sessions for families and carers of individuals with eating disorders.
Watch A FREE Information Session
Watch a FREE Session
Renowned Eating Disorder Therapist, Carolyn Costin, joined EDFA at an Information Session. This session is freely available to Australian carers to learn more about how to strengthen your loved one’s ‘healthy self’.
Become A Member
Members can access our live Information Sessions for free as part of membership (you’ll need to register for each Information Session). EDFA is currently offering FREE membership for carers in SA and QLD.
Watch Past Sessions
EDFA membership also gives you access to recordings of Information Sessions after the event. All sessions are recorded, and can be accessed by members after the event.
Join A Session in Your Language
With credentialed interpreters fluent in over 150 languages, we can now better support carers from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Upcoming Information Sessions
As a lived experience organisation, we are proud to share stories of those with their own lived experience, giving strength and hope to families that their loved ones can recover and lead fulfilling lives. Information sessions also feature clinicians focusing on medical and nutritional aspects of dealing with an eating disorder in the family.
As EDFA takes a unbiased approach to treatment, clinicians, and pathways of care, we are proud to share knowledge from speakers on different treatments and approaches.
What to expect
Our Information Sessions take place on the first Thursday and third Monday each month, 8:00-9:15pm AEDT.
- One-hour speaker-led sessions, followed by a 15-minute Q&A
- Hosted by carers with their own lived experience caring for a loved one with an eating disorder
- No expectation to share – feel free to come along and listen
- You can access the slides shared at the beginning of each Information Session here
Understanding both genetic and environmental factors that influence eating disorder development and maintenance will help us better identify, treat, and prevent them.
Natasha’s journey as an eating disorder genetics researcher has been rooted in her own lived experience and the desire to understand these devastating conditions. This science has given Natasha hope that there is a possibility for answers, improved treatment, and less shame and stigma. We still have a long way to go, and there is no silver bullet – but there is hope.
Eating disorders occur because of several biological, social, and environmental factors, which we now know include genetics. Genetics plays an important role across all four major eating disorder diagnoses. There isn’t one single gene at play, rather hundreds, if not thousands, of genes are likely to be involved. Likewise, genetics has revealed to us that eating disorders are both psychiatric and metabolic in nature, and that this looks different across the different eating disorders.
But genetics is not the be-all-and-end-all. Instead, genetics interacts with someone’s environment to influence whether someone does or does not develop an eating disorder. Finally, it’s not all risk. Both genetic and environmental factors can be protective against developing an eating disorder.
Natasha Berthold is a Research Fellow at the University of North Carolina’s Centre of Excellence for Eating Disorders, where she investigates the genetic underpinnings of eating disorders. Natasha’s lived experience with an eating disorder plays a significant role in her passion for research. Her research aims to clarify the biological mechanisms contributing to these complex psychiatric conditions, with the goal of informing the development of personalised therapeutic interventions.
In recognition of her work, Natasha was selected as a 2024 Quad Fellow—a prestigious program that fosters cross-cultural collaboration among emerging STEM leaders from Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. Upon completion of the fellowship year, she was selected as the Senior Fellow Ambassador for Australia, a role which she is currently serving. She was also awarded a research startup grant by the Perron Research Institute in 2023 to perform a novel genetic investigation of anorexia nervosa.
This session is only open for EDFA members.
Stories of Hope with Lived Experience Carers Sophie Elsley and Lisa Marshall
Monday, February 16, 2026
8-9.15pm AEDT
More details coming soon
story of hope
Eating disorders occur because of several biological, social, and environmental factors, which we now know include genetics. Genetics plays an important role across all four major eating disorder diagnoses. There isn’t one single gene at play, rather hundreds, if not thousands, of genes are likely to be involved. Likewise, genetics has revealed to us that eating disorders are both psychiatric and metabolic in nature, and that this looks different across the different eating disorders.
But genetics is not the be-all-and-end-all. Instead, genetics interacts with someone’s environment to influence whether someone does or does not develop an eating disorder. Finally, it’s not all risk. Both genetic and environmental factors can be protective against developing an eating disorder.
Natasha Berthold is a Research Fellow at the University of North Carolina’s Centre of Excellence for Eating Disorders, where she investigates the genetic underpinnings of eating disorders. Natasha’s lived experience with an eating disorder plays a significant role in her passion for research. Her research aims to clarify the biological mechanisms contributing to these complex psychiatric conditions, with the goal of informing the development of personalised therapeutic interventions.
In recognition of her work, Natasha was selected as a 2024 Quad Fellow—a prestigious program that fosters cross-cultural collaboration among emerging STEM leaders from Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. Upon completion of the fellowship year, she was selected as the Senior Fellow Ambassador for Australia, a role which she is currently serving. She was also awarded a research startup grant by the Perron Research Institute in 2023 to perform a novel genetic investigation of anorexia nervosa.
This session is only open for EDFA members.
More details coming soon.
Eating disorders occur because of several biological, social, and environmental factors, which we now know include genetics. Genetics plays an important role across all four major eating disorder diagnoses. There isn’t one single gene at play, rather hundreds, if not thousands, of genes are likely to be involved. Likewise, genetics has revealed to us that eating disorders are both psychiatric and metabolic in nature, and that this looks different across the different eating disorders.
But genetics is not the be-all-and-end-all. Instead, genetics interacts with someone’s environment to influence whether someone does or does not develop an eating disorder. Finally, it’s not all risk. Both genetic and environmental factors can be protective against developing an eating disorder.
Natasha Berthold is a Research Fellow at the University of North Carolina’s Centre of Excellence for Eating Disorders, where she investigates the genetic underpinnings of eating disorders. Natasha’s lived experience with an eating disorder plays a significant role in her passion for research. Her research aims to clarify the biological mechanisms contributing to these complex psychiatric conditions, with the goal of informing the development of personalised therapeutic interventions.
In recognition of her work, Natasha was selected as a 2024 Quad Fellow—a prestigious program that fosters cross-cultural collaboration among emerging STEM leaders from Australia, India, Japan, and the United States. Upon completion of the fellowship year, she was selected as the Senior Fellow Ambassador for Australia, a role which she is currently serving. She was also awarded a research startup grant by the Perron Research Institute in 2023 to perform a novel genetic investigation of anorexia nervosa.
This session is only open for EDFA members.
This session is designed for parents who want to better understand what’s considered typical, what may be a cause for concern, and how to respond early if changes in eating, exercise, or body image begin to worry you. Dr Norton will share insights into the early signs of disordered eating, how to foster a supportive food environment at home, and when to seek further support.
Come along with your questions, whether you’re simply wanting to learn more, or you’ve started noticing changes and aren’t sure what they mean.
Nourish, Nurture, Notice is EDFA’s FREE nation-wide online program designed for families and carers to identify early signs of eating disorders and seek professional help. The program includes a free 30-minute online masterclass, followed by free private one-on-one consults with Lyza to address any further concern.
Dr Norton has extensive clinical experience as a Senior Paediatric Dietitian working across the acute and community sector in the area of eating disorders, over the past two decades. She is passionate about integrating preventive interventions within the wider community and has research interests include the early years, food communication and preventive interventions. Her PhD; Promoting positive food parenting practices for disordered eating prevention: Adopting a knowledge translation approach (completed in 2023), has resulted in an intervention designed for parents to reduce their child’s risk of developing disordered eating. Dr Norton is passionate about using evidenced based strategies and frameworks adopted from social marketing, co-design and knowledge translation science to assist families in the real world.
Dr Norton is currently employed as a research fellow at Western Sydney University working on the SHiNE project (Supporting Healthful Initiatives in Nutrition Education) and is employed as a senior paediatric dietitian with Gold Coast Health Service. Treehouse Nutrition Services is her consultancy business enabling her to collaborate with other organisations, including The Embrace Collective and EDFA.
This FREE session is open to everyone. You don’t have to be an EDFA member to join.
This webinar will explore body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) -what it is, how it differs from the more common body dissatisfaction and body dysmorphia seen in eating disorders, and why these distinctions matter for support and recovery. We will discuss emerging research on cognitive difficulties in BDD, including how challenges with attention, memory, and social thinking can shape a person’s daily functioning and contribute to distress. The session will also offer practical guidance for carers, outlining ways to recognise BDD-related thinking patterns and behaviours, communicate effectively, and provide compassionate, informed support to individuals experiencing BDD.
Katrina Holmes à Court is a PhD candidate in the Neurocognition Laboratory at Swinburne University of Technology, supervised by Professor Susan Rossell. After careers as a musician and restaurateur, she returned to study after 25 years and now researches cognition in body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Her work builds on involvement in the world-first oxytocin clinical trial for BDD, the National Body Image Survey, and the development of the international BodyThink study. She has published a systematic review of neurocognition in BDD (Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry) and a qualitative study of subjective cognition (BMC Psychiatry), and has presented her research on radio, in The Age, and at major conferences including the International OCD Conference, ANZAED, and BIRD. Katrina is passionate about improving understanding and treatment of BDD, and outside academia enjoys travel, family time, and making music.
This session is only open for EDFA members.
Stories of Hope with Lived Experience Carers
Monday, April 20,
8:00-9:15pm AEST
More details coming soon
More details coming soon.
Professor Pepin is an experienced mental health occupational therapist and a proficient academic. Built on almost 20 years’ work in the area of mental health and eating disorders in Canada and in Australia and including partnerships with national and international leaders in the field, Prof Pepin has established herself as a significant contributor to eating disorders research. Genevieve’s expertise and passion are in research co-produced with carers of people with an eating disorder, understanding the impact of eating disorders on function and the daily activities of those with an eating disorder and their family, and the development of innovative interventions promoting best health outcomes.
Some of her work includes completing the first Australian studies exploring the effectiveness of the Collaborative Care Skill building Workshop (CCSW), an evidence-based intervention for carers of people with an eating disorder developed by Professor Janet Treasure and colleagues in the UK. She also developed a training program to ensure CCSW is delivered effectively across eating disorder services and organisations.
Her research is impactful and translational, leading to changes in practice and services as demonstrated by an invitation to join the Advisory Committee for the Development of the Australian Eating Disorders Research & Translation Strategy 2021-2031. She is a member of the executive group of the Australian Eating Disorder Research and Translation Centre. She is the co-lead of the Lived-Experience and Co-Production stream of the Centre and a member of the National Eating Disorders Research Consortium.
Genevieve is a strong believer in multidisciplinary approaches to understanding eating disorders. She believes in best practice and is curious about emerging knowledge and interventions about eating disorders.
This session is only open for EDFA members.
Attendance at our Information sessions should not be used for professional or financial gain. We ask that you do not promote your own services in the chat or Q&A. Thank you for your cooperation.
Thank you to our Information Session presenters who have generously shared their knowledge and time to benefit the EDFA community. You can access the list of past presenters here.
If you are interested in reaching out for further information or to enquire about our Information Sessions, you can contact Coran Johnson, EDucation Coordinator, at coran.johnson@edfa.org.au.