Eating and Body Image Among LGBTQ+ with Dr. Adriana Labarta

Adriana C. Labarta, Ph.D., LMHC, NCC, ACS, is an Assistant Professor at Florida Atlantic University's (FAU) Counselor Education Program. She has served clients with diverse identities across various settings, including residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and college counseling settings. Her primary research and clinical interests include eating disorders, body image, and multicultural/social justice issues. Dr. Labarta’s dissertation research focused on developing and validating the Multidimensional Eating and Body Image Screening for LGBTGEQIAP+ Individuals, an assessment tool that considers risk and protective factors using a culturally-informed framework. She has co-authored several peer-reviewed articles and presented on related topics at national and regional counseling conferences. She is currently an Emerging Leader for the Association for Assessment and Research in Counseling (AARC) for 2023-2024. Dr. Labarta is also a member of several counseling organizations, including ACA, AARC, ACES, SACES, and SAIGE.

Fighting Eating Disorders in Underrepresented Populations (FEDUP): https://fedupcollective.org/

The National Alliance for Eating Disorders:

• Find eating disorder treatment: https://findedhelp.com/

• Support groups (virtual and in-person options): https://www.allianceforeatingdisorders.com/groups/

Recent Research Articles:

• Burke, N. L., Schaefer, L. M., Hazzard, V. M., & Rodgers, R. F. (2020). Where identities converge: The importance of intersectionality in eating disorders research. The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53(10), 1605–1609. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23371

• Hartman-Munick, S. M., Silverstein, S., Guss, C. E., Lopez, E., Calzo, J. P., & Gordon, A. R. (2021). Eating disorder screening and treatment experiences in transgender and gender diverse young adults. Eating Behaviors : an International Journal, 41, 101517–101517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2021.101517

• Mensinger, J. L., Granche, J. L., Cox, S. A., & Henretty, J. R. (2020). Sexual and gender minority individuals report higher rates of abuse and more severe eating disorder symptoms than cisgender heterosexual individuals at admission to eating disorder treatment. The International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53(4), 541–554. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23257

• Parker, L. L., & Harriger, J. A. (2020). Eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors in the LGBT population: a review of the literature. Journal of Eating Disorders, 8(1), 51–51. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40337-020-00327-y

• The Trevor Project (2022). Research Brief: Eating Disorders among LGBTQ Youth. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Embargoed_Feb-2022-Research-Brief.pdf

Discussion Questions:

• In what ways might counselors engage in inclusive and culturally responsive treatment with LGBTQ+ clients struggling with body image or eating disorders?

• How might gender and sexual or affectionate identities impact body image?

• Why might obtaining expert feedback from scholars be important to inform item development? Practitioners? Members of the population?