When OCD Meets Eating Disorders: Clinical Skills for Dietitians
Understanding one of the most complex — and often missed — intersections in eating disorder care.
Are your eating disorder clients not responding to treatment the way you'd expect?
The missing piece might be OCD.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder and eating disorders co-occur at strikingly high rates — yet OCD often goes unrecognized in nutrition counseling settings. If you're working with eating disorder clients, chances are you're already sitting across from someone whose recovery is being complicated by OCD.
The question is: do you know how to identify it, and what to do next?
INTRODUCING
ED for RDs: The OCD-ED Overlap
A comprehensive online course designed specifically for registered dietitians who want to provide more effective, informed, and compassionate care to clients living at the intersection of OCD and eating disorders.
Led by Katie Jeffry, RD and Lissette Cortes, Registered Psychotherapist, this course brings together nutrition and mental health expertise to give you the clinical skills you need — and your clients deserve.
Meet your instructors
Katie Jeffrey
Registered Dietitian
Sales ManagerLissette Cortes Psy.D. she/her
Dr. Cortes (she/her) is a Licensed Psychologist in Florida, Certified Eating Disorders Specialist, PsyPact provider, founder of Compassionate Healing Institute. Dr. Cortes is a Cognitive-Behavioral therapist and specializes in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Her main treatment focus is on eating disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder, as well as BDD, Trichotillomania, phobias, panic disorder, anxiety disorders and depression. Dr. Cortes is trained in CBIT for the treatment for Tourette's and in SPACE for parenting interventions. Dr. Cortes is a Health At Every Size (HAES) aligned clinician and practices from a size-inclusive and diet-rejecting perspective utilizing intuitive eating principles. She incorporates self-compassionate practices into her work as well as ACT.
Dr. Cortes is very passionate about community involvement, education and outreach. Since 2011 she has been a group facilitator for The National Alliance for Eating Disorder. She also holds leadership positions for the board of Florida Psychological Association Palm Beach Region, for the board of iaedp (International Association for Eating Disorder Professionals) South Florida Chapter and the CBT Alliance of Florida. Dr. Cortes is also a co-founder of the IOCDF’s OCD and eating disorders Special Interest Group. Additionally, together with Katie Jeffrey MS RD CSSD, she is the co-author of “The OCD Workbook for Food and Eating Fears” (New Harbinger 2026).
Who Is This Course For?
This course is for you if:
You work with eating disorder clients and suspect OCD may be playing a role in their recovery
You've felt uncertain about how to identify OCD symptoms in a nutrition counseling context
You want to better understand evidence-based OCD treatment so you can collaborate more effectively with your client's care team
You're ready to deepen your clinical skills and offer more comprehensive, whole-person care
What You'll Learn
By the end of this course, you will be able to:
Recognize the signs and symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder in your eating disorder clients
Apply appropriate assessment strategies to identify OCD symptoms
Identify different subtypes of OCD that impact a client's relationship with food and eating
Understand the differences and similarities between a habituation model and an inhibitory learning model of OCD treatment
Identify the treatment structure for OCD and eating disorders
Complete a functional assessment for OCD and eating disorder behaviors
Identify a client's core fear(s)
Understand Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and other evidence-based treatment modalities for OCD and eating disorder comorbidity
Create food and eating exposures tailored to OCD and eating disorder behaviors
Identify complementary interventions that can be used alongside ERP
COURSE FORMAT
This live, online course runs from May through July 2026 and is delivered across five modules — each designed to build your knowledge and clinical confidence progressively.
Module 1 — Diagnosis and Assessment Tuesday, May 26 | 1:00–2:00 PM ET
Module 2 — OCD Themes and Treatment Philosophies Wednesday, June 3 | 11:00 AM–12:30 PM ET (includes Q&A)
Module 3 — CBT and ERP Treatment Structure Wednesday, June 10 | 12:00–1:00 PM ET
Module 4 — Clinical Interventions Thursday, June 25 | 6:00–7:30 PM ET (includes Q&A)
Module 5 — Case Consultation and Q&A Wednesday, July 23 | 12:00–1:00 PM ET
ALL LIVE SESSIONS WILL BE RECORDED, SO YOU DON’T MISS A THING!
Continuing Education
This course has been submitted to the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) for Continuing Professional Education Units (CPEUs).
This Course Will Change How You Practice
The overlap between OCD and eating disorders is one of the most underaddressed areas in dietitian training. This course fills that gap — giving you the clinical language, assessment tools, and treatment knowledge to show up more fully for your most complex clients.
