by Courtenay Pierce and the NCEED team

Since our last update, NCEED officially launched SBIRT-ED  during the week of June 20th. Now available for free, primary care physicians across the U.S. can access the SBIRT-ED tool, allowing them to effectively screen appropriately and provide necessary care to their patients. If you would like to learn more about the SBIRT-ED initiative, you can visit our website here. In the coming months, NCEED will launch introductory webinars on how to best use the tool and make appropriate referrals as needed. Be sure to follow us on social media or sign up for our newsletter to stay informed on these newly added resources! We would also encourage you to reach out if there is an opportunity to partner with you or a primary care network in which you are connected.

In addition to our work on SBIRT-ED, NCEED has been continuing to advance the technical assistance provided to stakeholders across the country. Director Dr. Christine Peat gave a presentation to the SAMHSA Center for Mental Health Services National Advisory Committee in March during which several committee members commented on the importance of integrating those with lived experience into the work we are doing. Following this presentation, NCEED set its sights on the extent to which certified peer support specialists might benefit from eating disorder-specific training and education. Certified peer support specialists are people who have been successful in recovery (from substance use disorders and other mental health conditions) and in turn, help others who are in similar situations. There are well-established models for peer work in mental health and that model has gained momentum within SAMHSA as well. In order to gain a better understanding of the existing needs for peer support specialists, NCEED has scheduled several listening sessions where groups of certified peers will convene. NCEED will then have the opportunity to hear from peers directly as they provide fruitful content on the education and necessary tools needed for them to be effective in providing support for someone living with an eating disorder.  In order to do this work, NCEED is working with the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors and the SAMHSA-funded Peer Recovery Center of Excellence—two organizations that have an established footprint in peer support specialist services. Our hope is that after these listening sessions, we will be able to cultivate a more formalized workplan regarding potential training development and delivery.

With all of the exciting projects we are working on, NCEED will continue to produce evidence-based training opportunities as well as increase access to the online resource center in order to further our mission. Listed below are 2022 webinars hosted by NCEED Content Experts, thus far.

If you would like to see what webinars will be offered for the remainder of 2022, you can view the calendar on page 4 here! As always, we encourage you to stay up to date with all of the upcoming projects and announcements via social media or the newsletter!