Cracked Reflections: Identifying and Managing Countertransference in Eating Disorder Care
Treating eating disorders (EDs) often places clinicians in an adversarial position, where they may feel like the "bad guy" trying to remove a client's primary coping mechanism. This dynamic frequently triggers intense countertransference, the therapist’s unconscious emotional and cognitive reactions to a patient. If left unexamined, these "cracked reflections" can lead to therapeutic impasses, clinician burnout, or compromised care. This webinar provides mental health professionals with the tools to recognize and skillfully navigate the complex emotional landscape of ED treatment. Less...
Learning Objectives
- Distinguish between transference and countertransference responses and analyze their potential impacts within eating disorder care.
- Identify potential personal countertransference "blind spots" that can emerge when treating clients with eating disorders.
- Apply a minimum of two clinical strategies to embody a stance of "grounded compassion" when interacting with eating disorder clients, with the goal of holding both clinical boundaries and empathetic connection.
Friday, April 17, 2026
Live Interactive Webinar
12:00 PM EDT - 01:00 PM EDT
EARN 1 CE Credit Hours
Click Here to Register
Click Here to Register
About the speaker
Emma Riebl, MS, LPC-MHSP, LPCC, LCMHC, NCC
Emma received her master's of science in clinical mental health counseling from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She holds her associate licensure as a professional counselor and mental health service provider in Tennessee and has worked with individuals seeking treatment for eating disorders at all levels of care. Emma is a national certified counselor, through the National Board of Certified Counselors, and is a member of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals. Through being passionate about expressive arts therapies, Emma often utilizes psychodramatic and art therapy techniques in her work with clients, to help them creatively express their lived experiences.
Agenda
I. Introduction: The Mirror in the Room (10 Mins)
The Unique Mirror: Why ED care is uniquely prone to countertransference (everyone has a relationship with food/body).
Defining the "Cracked Reflection": Differentiating between helpful countertransference (data about the patient) and obstructive countertransference (the clinician’s unhealed wounds).
Establishing Safety: A brief disclaimer that this session requires self-honesty without self-judgment.
II. The Taxonomy of Triggers (15 Mins)
Somatic Triggers: Recognizing the "gut feeling"—physical tension, hunger, or nausea during sessions.
The "Good Provider" Trap: The urge to "rescue" or "fix" the patient to alleviate the clinician's own anxiety.
Body Envy & Body Shaming: Addressing the elephant in the room—how a clinician’s own body dissatisfaction or "thin privilege" impacts the dynamic.
The Multidisciplinary Lens: * Dietitians: Control vs. flexibility.
Physicians: Anxiety over medical stability vs. patient autonomy.
Therapists: Patience vs. the desire for rapid behavioral change.
III. The Impact: When the Reflection Shatters (10 Mins)
Clinical Blind Spots: Missing symptoms because they mirror the clinician’s "normal" (e.g., "I run marathons too, so her over-exercise seems fine").
Collusion: Subtly agreeing with the patient's ED voice to avoid conflict.
The Team Effect: How individual countertransference leads to splitting (e.g., "The dietitian is the 'mean' one, the therapist is the 'nice' one").
IV. Clinical Tools for Management (15 Mins)
The "Pause & Pivot" Technique: Real-time grounding exercises for when a trigger hits mid-session.
The Parallel Process: Using supervision to untangle what belongs to the patient and what belongs to the provider.
Radical Transparency with Self: Journaling prompts for post-session debriefing.
Interdisciplinary Support: Establishing "Countertransference Rounds" where the team can speak honestly about their frustrations.
V. Conclusion & Interactive Q&A (10 Mins)
Mending the Mirror: The goal isn't to not have triggers, but to manage them so they don't harm the patient.
Call to Action: One small change to implement in the next clinical encounter.
CE Information - Earn 1 CE Credit Hour
CE Approvals
Joint Accreditation
In support of improving patient care, CE Learning Systems is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
Commission on Dietetic Registration
Completion of this RD/DTR profession-specific or IPCE activity awards CPEUs (1 IPCE credits = 1 CPEU). If the activity is dietetics related but not targeted to RDs or DTRs, CPEUs may be claimed which are commensurate with participation in contact hours (1 hour/60 minutes = 1 CPEU). RDs and DTRs are to select activity type 102 in their Activity Logs. Performance Indicator selection is at the learner’s discretion.
Interprofessional Continuing Education
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change.
American Psychological Association
Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.
New York Education Department's State Board for Social Work
CE Learning Systems SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0060.
New York Education Department for Licensed Mental Health Counselors
CE Learning Systems, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0072.
New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology
CE Learning Systems dba CE-Credit.com & AddictionCounselorCE.com is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists #PSY-0016.
New York Education Department's State Board for Marriage and Family Therapy
CE Learning Systems dba CE-Credit.com & AddictionCounselorCE.com is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Marriage and Family Therapy as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0045.
CE Process Info
Before the event, you will receive an email from CE-Go with access to the virtual event. After the event, you will receive access to your evaluation and continuing education certificate via a personalized "attendee dashboard" link, hosted on the CE-Go website. This link and access to the virtual event will be sent to the email account you used to register for the event.
Upon accessing the CE-Go "attendee dashboard", you will be able to:
- Complete evaluation forms for the event
- Download your continuing education certificate in a PDF format
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE-Go platform, please contact CE-Go at 888-498-5578 or by email at support@ce-go.com Please Note: Emails for this event will come from "support@ceactivities.com".
If you have any continuing education related questions, please contact your event organizer.
Please make sure to check your spam/junk folder in case those emails get "stuck". We'd also suggest "Allowlisting" support@ceactivities.com. This tells your email client that you know this sender and trust them, which will keep emails from this contact at the top of your inbox and out of the junk folder.
Disclosure
DISCLOSURE OF RELEVANT FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPSCE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity ― including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).
The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity’s planners, faculty, and the reviewer:
PLANNERS AND REVIEWER
The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.
FACULTY
The faculty of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.