212 The Professional Counselor™ Volume 14, Issue 2, Pages 212–225 http://tpcjournal.nbcc.org © 2024 NBCC, Inc. and Affiliates doi: 10.15241/tji.14.2.212 Enhancing Counselor Trainee Preparedness for Treating Eating Disorders: Recommendations for Counselor Educators Eating disorders (EDs) are increasingly prevalent and pose significant public health challenges. Yet, deficits exist in counselor education programs regarding ED assessment, conceptualization, and treatment. Consequently, counselors report feeling incompetent and distressed when working with ED clients. We propose a conceptual framework, the 3 Cs of ED Education and Training, to enhance trainee development. The 3 Cs are: (a) cultivating trainee self-awareness through reflexivity and deliberate skill practice, (b) capturing contextual and sociocultural factors with culturally responsive approaches, and (c) collaborating with interdisciplinary ED professionals while strengthening counselor professional identity. Implications for counselor educators include incorporating activities aligned with this framework into curriculum and experiential training in order to facilitate trainee competence in ED assessment and treatment. Keywords: eating disorders, 3 Cs of ED Education and Training, framework, counselor education, trainee development Eating disorders (EDs) remain one of the most lethal mental health illnesses, contributing to roughly 3 million deaths globally each year (van Hoeken & Hoek, 2020) and impacting 29 million or 9% of Americans over their lifetime (Deloitte Consumer Report, 2020). In the United States alone, EDs directly result in 10,200 deaths annually, averaging one death every hour (Deloitte Access Economics, 2020). The steady rise of EDs across genders and countries is of increasing concern, with scholars noting in their systematic literature review that rates have doubled from 3.5% in 2000–2006 to 7.8% in 2013–2018 (Galmiche et al., 2019). EDs also exact a significant economic toll in the United States. In the 2018–2019 fiscal year, Streatfeild et al. (2021) found that EDs generated financial costs of nearly $65 billion, averaging about $11,000 per affected individual. Moreover, their study estimated an additional $326.5 billion in non-financial costs due to reduced well-being among those with EDs. Given their associated comorbidities with other mental health illnesses (Ulfvebrand et al., 2015), enduring somatic issues (Galmiche et al., 2019), and facilitation of psychological distress (Kärkkäinen et al., 2018), EDs pose significant public health and economic threats that necessitate further consideration. However, the literature lacks meaningful attention to ED prevention and treatment (van Hoeken & Hoek, 2020), an oversight that needs to be redressed within counselor education (CE) graduate training programs. A failure to examine this clinical issue threatens the maintenance of quality assurance and ethical standards within the profession, enabling short- and long-term client harm. Challenges and Gaps in ED Education and Training Given the steady rise in the prevalence of EDs and their associated consequences, counseling trainees must be equipped with comprehensive training in order to effectively conceptualize and treat these complex conditions. However, across the decades, research has illuminated ED education and training deficits, particularly in graduate programs (Biang et al., 2024; Labarta et al., 2023; Levitt, 2006; Thompson-Brenner et al., 2012). For instance, Labarta et al.’s (2023) recent study examined clinician Taylor J. Irvine, Adriana C. Labarta Taylor J. Irvine, PhD, NCC, ACS, LMHC, is an assistant professor at Nova Southeastern University. Adriana C. Labarta, PhD, NCC, ACS, LMHC, is an assistant professor at Florida Atlantic University. Correspondence may be addressed to Taylor J. Irvine, Department of Counseling, Nova Southeastern University, 3300 S. University Dr., Maltz Bldg., Rm. 2041, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33328-2004, ti48@nova.edu.
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