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. 2025 Jun 16;13(Suppl 1):113.
doi: 10.1186/s40337-025-01309-8.

The ANZAED Eating Disorder Credential for health care providers: clinician perspectives

Katarina Prnjak  1 , Janet Conti  2   3 , Madalyn McCormack  3 , Gabriella Heruc  4 , Siân A McLean  5 , Rebecca Barns  3 , Phillipa Hay  6   7
Affiliations

The ANZAED Eating Disorder Credential for health care providers: clinician perspectives

Katarina Prnjak et al. J Eat Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Australia & New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED) in 2022 established a credentialing system for eating disorder (ED) clinicians that recognises a minimum knowledge, training, and ongoing professional development necessary to provide safe and effective care. The aim of this study was to explore experiences of credentialed clinicians with the new credentialing system, in particular, their view on continuous professional development (CPD) and supervision required for maintaining the credentialed status, as well as how becoming credentialed has affected their clinical work.

Methods: Two hundred and twenty-eight credentialed clinicians (92.5% female; 41.7% psychologists; 39.5% dietitians) completed an online survey consisting of multiple choice and open-ended questions regarding their experience with the credentialing system and perceptions of the CPD program.

Results: Credentialed clinicians reported that CPD increased their confidence and willingness to deliver ED treatment, and that supervision enhanced their reflective skills and ethical thinking, whilst 75% of clinicians reported that attaining the Credential had not changed the number of ED patients that they were currently treating on a weekly basis. Content analysis of open-ended questions resulted in three broad themes: professional/personal development; improving care; and acknowledgement and recognition. Differences were found between clinicians working in private practice and those working in public health or both settings with regards to impacts on client referrals to their services.

Conclusions: These findings show that credentialed clinicians perceived a positive experience with the Credential and its ongoing CPD program. However, there may be a need to increase the visibility and external awareness of the credentialing system.

Keywords: Anorexia nervosa; Binge eating disorder; Bulimia nervosa; Clinician supervision; Continuing professional development.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethics approval and consent to participate: This research was approved by the HREC at the Western Sydney University (H15252). Consent to publish: Not applicable. Competing interests: Author PH has received sessional fees from the Therapeutic Guidelines publication and the Health Education and Training Institute (HETI, NSW), and royalties/honoraria from Hogrefe and Huber, McGraw Hill Education, Blackwell Scientific Publications, BioMed Central, and PLOS Medicine. She has been a consultant to Takeda Pharmaceuticals and is on the Scientific Advisory Board of Tryptamine Therapeutics. Author GH was employed by ANZAED as the Credentialing Director for the Credential program with funding support from the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. Author SM is the Past President of ANZAED and is the Chair of the ANZAED Credentialing Governing Council. The authors KP, JC, MM, and RB declare that they have no competing interests. Authors’ information: KP is an Adjunct Research Fellow in the School of Medicine at Western Sydney University and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Graduate School of Health at the University of Technology Sydney, JC is an Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology at Western Sydney University, MM is a Research Officer at Western Sydney University, GH is an Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at Western Sydney University and Credentialing Director for ANZAED, RB is a Research Officer at Western Sydney University, SM is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology, Counselling & Therapy at La Trobe University, and PH is a Professor of Medicine at Western Sydney University. About this supplement: This article has been published as part of Journal of Eating Disorders Volume 13 Supplement 1, 2025: The Australia & New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders. The full contents of the supplement are available online at: https://jeatdisord.biomedcentral.com/articles/supplements/volume-13-supplement-1 .

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Three broad themes and their subthemes
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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