BHIPP Bulletin

Volume 10, Issue 8

February 2025

This month's BHIPP Bulletin is a contribution from Lily Stavisky, BA, BHIPP Outreach & Training Coordinator.

National Eating Disorders Awareness Week was established to raise awareness about the realities of eating disorders and to provide support to those impacted by eating disorders. In honor of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week (February 24th-March 2nd, 2025), BHIPP has gathered information and resources relevant to supporting youth experiencing an Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder (OSFED) otherwise known as an atypical eating disorder. OSFEDs (e.g., atypical anorexia nervosa, purging disorder, night eating syndrome) are clinically significant eating or feeding disorders that do not meet the full criteria for any feeding or eating disorders (e.g., anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder) (Hagan & Attia, 2023). Children and adolescents that experience an OSFED can present with psychological and physiological symptoms that are as severe as the formally recognized feeding and eating disorders. 

Despite the high prevalence of OSFEDs (Mitchison et al., 2020), there is a lack of awareness of OSFEDs. Pediatric primary care providers can support the patients they serve with OSFEDs by: 

• Screening patients for eating disorder symptoms as a part of annual visits or physical examinations in order to increase early identification and improve prognosis
• Starting a conversation with patients and their families about ‘healthy eating’ and ‘healthy weight’ to further assess symptoms and decrease stigma
• Providing psychoeducation to increase knowledge about OSFEDs and core components of evidence-based treatments for these disorders
• Assisting patients and families in locating specialized support or resources for their symptoms

Resources and Handouts:

1. Identification and Management of Eating Disorders in Children and Adolescents

2. Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (OSFED)

3. Atypical Anorexia

4. Eating Disorder Awareness: Understanding Atypical Anorexia

5. Eating Disorder Information Sheet - Atypical Anorexia Nervosa

6. Types of Eating Disorders

As always, if you have questions about the behavioral health needs of your patients, we encourage you to call the BHIPP consultation line at 

855-MD-BHIPP (632-4477), open 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, for resource/referral networking or consultation support.

We will keep you informed about all our services and training events through our website (www.mdbhipp.org) and monthly e-newsletters. Additionally, BHIPP is on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook. We invite you to follow us there to stay up-to-date on upcoming training events, pediatric mental health research, and resources for providers, families and children.

BHIPP Announcements

Register for the next BHIPP ECHO Core Foundations session!

Register for the BHIPP ECHO Core Foundations series! The next session will be held on February 27th from 12:00-1:00pm. Join our multidisciplinary team of child behavioral health experts every month between October 2024 and May 2025 for virtual case-based learning and didactic presentations. This series is great for providers who want to improve their knowledge of child mental health and develop foundational skills. Free CME and CEU credit is available for participation.

New BHIPP ECHO: Enhanced Behavioral Health Training for PMHNPs

Register for the new BHIPP PMHNP ECHO series! The next session will be held on March 4th from 11:00am-12:00pm. Join our multidisciplinary team of child behavioral health experts every month between November 2024 and April 2025 for virtual case-based learning and didactic presentations. This series is designed for Maryland Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioners (PMHNPs) who want to deepen their knowledge of child and adolescent mental health. Free CEU credit is available for participation.

Sign up for the next BHIPP Webinar!

Register for the next BHIPP Webinar on March 11th at 12:00pm! BHIPP Webinars are a series of interactive, web-based learning sessions that are a virtual space for pediatric primary care, emergency medicine, and behavioral health providers to connect, learn and share about strategies, practices and resources to promote mental health and resilience among children and families as well as providers. Free CME and CEU credit is available for participation.

Join the BHIPP ECHO Beyond the Basics Series!

Register for the BHIPP ECHO Beyond the Basics series! The next session will be held on March 13th from 12:00-1:00pm. Join our multidisciplinary team of child behavioral health experts on the second Thursday of every month between October 2024 and May 2025 for virtual case-based learning and didactic presentations. This series is great for providers who have already participated in BHIPP ECHO, or who feel like they are experienced in treating behavioral health in their practice and are looking to explore advanced topics. Free CME and CEU credit is available for participation.

Complete this survey on Tourette Syndrome to receive a

$50 e-gift card!

The Tourette Syndrome Center of Excellence at Johns Hopkins Medicine and Kennedy Krieger Institute in collaboration with Maryland Behavioral Health Integration in Pediatric Primary Care (BHIPP) is conducting a brief survey to better understand pediatric primary care providers (PCPs) knowledge about Tourette Syndrome and related tic disorders (collectively TS) and to identify current practices of PCPs when encountering children and adolescents with TS. We will use this information to inform development of clinical tools to assist PCPs when encountering youth with TS in their everyday practice. PCPs will receive a $50 e-gift card upon completion of this 20-minute survey.

Announcing the new and improved BHIPP website!

BHIPP is pleased to announce the launch of our new and improved website! The new site features an online webform for submitting consultation requests, an interactive calendar of events, and a training library. Visit our website by clicking the button below!