From Fight-or-Flight to Rest-and-Digest: Integrating Trauma-Informed Tools in GI Nutrition Care

Description

Learning Objectives

• Describe changes in client presentation that may occur with nervous system activation, through the lens of polyvagal theory.
• Integrate the four “R”s of trauma-informed care into both organizational structures and one-on-one counseling.
• Implement two practical nervous system regulation strategies to support digestion, bowel regularity, and reduced meal-time stress.

Performance Indicators

• 1.1.2 Pursues and embraces opportunities to advance practice.
• 11.2.9 Gathers and evaluates information that affects intake and nutrition and health status (e.g., behaviors, beliefs, knowledge, cultural, religious, ethnic, psychosocial, and social determinants of health) that influence nutrition and health.
• 11.3.4 Selects interventions intended to resolve or improve nutrition diagnoses through addressing the causes and/or contributing factors.

Speakers

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  Emily Arkin

  Owner, RD Emily & Team

  Emily Arkin, MS, RD, LD is a registered dietitian nutritionist based in Washington, D.C. Her group practice, RD Emily & Team, specializes in eating disorders and weight-inclusive medical nutrition therapy. She cares deeply about helping clients discover (or rediscover) joy in food while managing chronic conditions. Emily has worked at IOP and PHP levels of care for eating disorder treatment and is a member of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (IAEDP). She is also a member of Dietitians in Gluten and Gastrointestinal Disorders (DIGID), a dietetic practice subgroup within the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Emily has presented on a variety of topics related to eating disorders and gastrointestinal disorders for IAEDP, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND)--including the DC, Maryland, and Massachussetts affiliates--and the Multi-Service Eating Disorder Association, as well as therapy and medical practices. She is a co-author of the 2025 textbook, Comprehensive Nutrition Therapy for Co-Occurring Gastrointestinal & Eating Disorders.

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  Jordan Shapiro

  Gastroenterologist/CEO, Gentle GI, PLLC

  Jordan Shapiro, MD MS is an Internist and Gastroenterologist and founder of Gentle GI, PLLC, a trauma-informed gastroenterology practice in Houston, Texas. Dr. Shapiro’s clinical areas of expertise include trauma-informed GI care, disorders of gut-brain interaction such as irritable bowel syndrome, pelvic floor disorders, GI complications of eating disorders, and transition from pediatric to adult GI care. Dr. Shapiro has served as a consultant for the Baylor College of Medicine Long COVID Clinic, J Flowers Health Institute, and NIH Undiagnosed Network. Dr. Shapiro has extensive peer-reviewed publications, textbook chapters, and is a frequent guest on podcasts. He was a co-author on the textbook, Comprehensive Nutrition Therapy for Co-Occurring Gastrointestinal & Eating Disorders.

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  Samina Qureshi

  Owner, Wholesome Start, LLC

  Samina Qureshi RDN, LD is the Registered Dietitian and founder of Wholesome Start, LLC, a virtual nutrition practice based in Austin, Texas. She specializes in medical nutrition therapy for co-occurring disordered eating and gastrointestinal conditions. Samina’s weight-inclusive, culturally responsive approach to nutrition empowers clients to gain relief from uncomfortable digestive symptoms, identify food and lifestyle triggers, reduce unnecessary food restrictions, and build a healthier relationship with food. She has presented on trauma-informed, culturally inclusive, non-diet approaches to GI and eating disorder care at EDRD PRO, Texas and Oklahoma state Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics conferences, Diversify Dietetics Summit, Weight-Inclusive Dietitians in Canada, and the BIPOC Eating Disorder Conference. She is a member of Houston and Central Texas Eating Disorder Specialists. Samina is also co-author of Comprehensive Nutrition Therapy for Co-Occurring Gastrointestinal & Eating Disorders and guides clinicians treating these complex, overlapping conditions. When she’s not supporting clients, Samina loves being a mom to two young children and spending time with her husband and dog.

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Moderator

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  Madeline Hric

  Advanced Practice Dietitian, Cleveland Clinic

  Madeline is an Advanced Practice Dietitian in the Digestive Disease Institute at the Cleveland Clinic Main Campus. She specializes in gastroenterology, hepatobiliary, and metabolic surgery, with an additional focus on nutrition education through her graduate adjunct professorship at John Carroll University and grant-awarded Interprofessional Nutrition Education program at Cleveland Clinic. Madeline strives to bolster collaboration within the interdisciplinary team by educating healthcare providers on the role and scope of practice of a dietitian. She currently serves as the Chair of the DMNT DPG and just completed her appointed terms on the Council on Future Practice and Foundation Scholarship Review Committee. She holds a Master of Science degree in Nutrition and Dietetics from the University of Pittsburgh and a Bachelor of Arts in Exercise Science from John Carroll University. She volunteers with the Ohio Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and other organizations throughout the Cleveland community because she believes in the Academy’s mission to accelerate improvements in global health and well-being through food and nutrition.

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