Leading experts, clinicians and people with lived experience come together to examine the changing face of eating disorders.
36th St John of God Research Conference to explore early-onset eating disorders, recovery, neurodiversity, family involvement and the future of eating disorder care.
Dublin, 10 November 2026: Leading clinicians, researchers, healthcare professionals and people with lived experience have come together in Dublin today for the 36th Annual St John of God Research Conference, Understanding Eating Disorders: What Lies Beneath – Advancing Research, Recovery and Community.
Taking place at the Talbot Hotel, Stillorgan, the conference examined the changing understanding of eating disorders and what research, clinical practice and lived experience can tell us about how treatment and services need to evolve.
The programme brought together expertise from St John of God Research Foundation and the services delivered by SJOG Group as well as specialists from University College Dublin, RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Bodywhys.
Key issues explored included eating disorders presenting in younger children; Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID); changing relationships with food and body image; neurodiversity; family-centred approaches to treatment; stigma and recovery; and the importance of lived experience in shaping healthcare, education and services.
Minister for Mental Health and Government Chief Whip, Mary Butler TD, who addressed the conference said:
“Over the past five years, there has been a significant transformation in eating disorder care in Ireland. What was once a service with very limited specialist capacity has grown into a nationwide programme with dedicated community teams, over 100 specialist clinicians and expanded inpatient expertise supporting children, young people and adults across the country. This progress has been driven by sustained Government investment, clinical leadership, research and the voices of people with lived experience, all working towards the shared goal of earlier intervention and better outcomes.”
“Conferences such as this hosted by St John of God Research Foundation are vital in helping us build on that progress. By bringing together researchers, clinicians, advocates and people with lived experience, they help ensure that future developments in eating disorder care, including the expansion of inpatient care for adults, continue to be informed by evidence, innovation and the needs of those who use our services.”
Opening the conference, Dr Isabella Bray, CEO of the St John of God Research Foundation, said:
“Research has an important role to play in helping us understand not only eating disorders themselves, but the person behind the diagnosis and the many different factors that can influence treatment and recovery.
“This year’s conference deliberately brings together research, clinical practice and lived experience. We want to look beyond any single measure of recovery and ask what better care looks like for children, young people, adults and families. By creating a space where researchers, clinicians and people with lived experience can learn from one another, we can help translate evidence into better practice and ultimately better outcomes for people.”
Among the conference speakers is Dr Michelle Clifford, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and Clinical Lead of the St John of God Lucena Eating Disorder Team, who will examine early-onset eating disorders and their presentation in younger children.
International eating disorder expert Dr Rachel Bryant-Waugh, Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist with the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Visiting Associate Professor at King’s College London, will explore ARFID. Dr Bryant-Waugh has played a significant role internationally in developing understanding of ARFID and has served on both the DSM-5 and ICD-11 diagnostic revision workgroups.
Professor Fiona McNicholas, Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at St John of God Lucena and Children’s Health Ireland, Crumlin, and Chair of Academic Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at UCD, will examine how relationships with food and body image have changed in the modern era.
The conference will also hear directly from Conor Nolan, Youth Development Officer with Bodywhys, whose presentation Beyond the Diagnosis: Anorexia, Stigma and a Journey into Advocacy draws on both his professional work and lived experience of anorexia nervosa.
Research being presented at the conference highlights some of the challenges facing eating disorder services. A St John of God study involving people attending a specialist inpatient eating disorder programme found significant improvements in wellbeing, functioning and quality of life among those completing treatment, while anxiety, difficulty relaxing and concerns around body image remained challenges during recovery.
The conference also considered how eating disorders intersect with neurodiversity and family life through dedicated workshops, alongside discussions on the role of lived experience in healthcare education and a concluding panel asking a direct question of speakers and delegates: “What needs to change?”
Dr Bray added:
“The purpose of research is not simply to generate knowledge. Its real value is in what happens next: how evidence informs practice, how services respond and whether that ultimately improves people’s lives. That is why bringing researchers, practitioners and people with lived experience into the same conversation is so important.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
About the St John of God Research Foundation
The St John of God Research Foundation supports and promotes research across areas including mental health, intellectual disability and services for older people. Through research funding, professional supports, education, library resources and opportunities to share knowledge, SJOG Research works to connect research and evidence with practice and service development.
Conference: Understanding Eating Disorders: What Lies Beneath – Advancing Research, Recovery and Community
Media enquiries:
Lucy McGivern, Q4PR, lucy@q4pr.ie, 086 158 7850