Responsive Feeding Therapy
Two day in person course
| Venue | F2 Centre, Rialto, Dublin 8 |
| Price | €160.00 |
| Start Date 1 | 9 Sep 2025 |
| Start Date 2 | 10 Sep 2025 |
| Time | 09.30 - 16.00 |
Please note that this course is supported by funding from the HSCP office. As such, in the event that the course is oversubsribed priority will be given to staff in HSE/HSE funded roles (including S38/S39)
This two day in-person course for Occupational Therapists takes place at the F2 Centre, Rialto, Dublin 8. It is essential that you are able to attend both days of the course.
Introduction
This 2-day course will equip Occupational Therapists with the knowledge and skills to assess and support families experiencing avoidant eating using a Responsive Feeding Therapy (RFT) framework.
Using presentations, videos, group activities, discussions, and case examples, this course will give attendees a thorough and engaging introduction to RFT. Attendees will come away with the theoretical background, practical tools, and language to support families with feeding concerns.
RFT is an overarching approach to feeding and eating interventions that focuses on the (re)discovery of internal cues, curiosity, and motivation while building skills and confidence. RFT aims to prioritise felt safety and nervous system regulation, to support and optimise children’s relationship with food and their bodies, and to provide individualised care. Drawing on an extensive body of research in the areas of responsive parenting, humanistic psychology, attachment theory (and much more!) RFT is based on five core values: Autonomy, Relationship, Competence, Intrinsic motivation, and Holism (or the whole child lens).
What will be covered:
● A background to RFT
● How RFT differs from other feeding interventions
● Understanding typical eating and identifying clinical problems
● The diagnostic criteria for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) and Paediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD)
● An introduction to different RFT models
● A 5-phase approach to supporting families with feeding
● Making the most of your pre-assessment paperwork
● Carrying out a feeding assessment
● Using mealtime videos to assess feeding dynamics
● Supporting families to understand their child’s eating
● Working with families to set appropriate goals
● The important role of acceptance in coping with avoidant eating
● Implementing responsive feeding practices (including structure, reduced pressure, connection, ways of serving food, and inclusive meal planning).
● Using the core values to guide clinical decision making in individualised care
● Cultural, societal, and generational influences on our eating beliefs & assumptions
● Case study discussion
● Reflecting on implementing RFT and your scope of practice
Learning Outcomes:
● Understand the key goals and principles of RFT
● Identify the core differences between different feeding interventions (Sensory, Behavioural, Responsive)
● Identify typical eating behaviours and clinical feeding challenges (e.g. ARFID & PFD)
● Identify common underlying reasons for eating challenges (medical, sensory & developmental skill, psychological)
● Utilise pre-assessment paperwork to guide a feeding assessment
● Understand common feeding assumptions & misperceptions
● Make use of mealtime videos to support feeding assessments
● Apply a 5-phase approach to supporting families with avoidant eating
● Identify core components of responsive feeding practices
● Develop ways of supporting families to implement responsive feeding practices
● Reflect on one’s own beliefs, assumptions, feelings and goals in relation to children’s eating
● Reflect on responsive feeding therapy in the context of your clinical practice
Facilitators:
Dr Jo Cormack
Jo is a responsive feeding specialist, researcher, and registered therapist. She helps families of avoidant eaters with the relational and emotional aspects of food and feeding using her Emotionally Aware Feeding (EAF) Model. Jo has a PhD in psychology; the topic of her doctoral work was parental feeding practices in the context of avoidant eating, and she continues to conduct research in this area, both in the UK where she lives, and as part of international collaborations. Jo is a co-founder of Responsive Feeding Pro - an online training hub for feeding professionals. Jo is the author of Helping Children Develop a Positive Relationship with Food (Jessica Kingsley Publishers). She trains and supervises feeding professionals and is interested in helping clinicians from diverse disciplines draw on psychological and psychotherapeutic theory in their practice.
Dr Hazel Wolstenholme
Hazel is a chartered psychologist and child feeding specialist. She supports families with feeding challenges and provides consultancy and training to health professionals. Hazel completed her BA Psychology and PhD at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Her PhD research focused on families’ experiences and management of “fussy” eating. Hazel completed training in Sensory (SOS), Behavioural (ABA) and Responsive (EAF) feeding interventions, and then specialised in Responsive Feeding Therapy. Hazel has presented at international health behaviour conferences and published research in leading academic journals including Appetite and IJBNPA. Based on her PhD findings, Hazel has developed the Bicycle Model of Child Feeding to bridge the gap between psychology research and clinical practice.
Application and Payment information:
- Payment in full is taken at the time of application.
- Payment of the fee does not guarantee you a place at this event.
- Full payment must be received prior to the closing date in order to secure your place.
- If the event is oversubscribed you will be provided with a full refund.
- Successful applicants will be notified that they have a place at the event following the closing date.
- Places are limited and members are advised to apply early to secure a place.
- Please note: notifications will be sent to the email address entered on this application form. Please make sure to enter correctly the email address you wish to use for communication about this event.
- Please read our CPD events cancellation/refund policy. See AOTI T&Cs
