Episode 026

How Parents and Pediatricians Can Bridge the Gap to Eating Disorder Care (with Dr. Anna Tanner and Dr. Elizabeth Woodcock)

In this episode, Jenni Gaines and Laura Cohen sit down with pediatrician and eating disorder specialist Dr. Anna Tanner and healthcare administration expert and FEAST board member Dr. Elizabeth Woodcock to talk about the vital role parents play when a child has an eating disorder, and how pediatricians can support and empower them. Anna explains why parents matter so much as treatment initiators---with the average age of onset for anorexia and bulimia now just over 12, children present embedded in their families---and why eating disorders are so hard for pediatricians to see early, since medical complications often lag well behind the changes a parent notices at home.

The conversation covers how pediatricians can bridge families toward family-based treatment while they wait for specialized care, how shame reactions shape what happens in the exam room, and a new American Academy of Pediatrics-backed effort to give parents a resource they can bring back to the pediatrician they already trust. Listeners will come away knowing that their observations about their child matter, and that they are the most important member of their child's care team.

00:00 Introduction and Disclaimer

01:45 Meet Dr. Anna Tanner and Dr. Elizabeth Woodcock

03:45 How Anna and Elizabeth Met

06:45 Why Parents Matter as Treatment Initiators

09:30 When the Pediatrician Isn't Concerned

11:15 Growth Charts, Screenings, and Parent Fear

14:15 If You Would Only Listen: Elizabeth's Story

17:30 Bridging Families to Eating Disorder Treatment

20:30 The Pediatrician's Position of Trust

22:15 When Even Insiders Get Failed by the System

26:30 Understanding Shame Reactions

29:30 An AAP Resource to Give Parents a Voice

32:30 Guilt, Shame, and the "Crazy Mom" Superpower

37:45 Closing Lessons from Both Sides

SUPPORT & RESOURCES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

FEAST website:

https://feast-ed.org/

FEAST programs and services:

https://feast-ed.org/programs-and-services/

Dr. Tanner's book, Pediatric Eating Disorders: The Medical Care of Children and Adolescents:

https://www.aap.org/Pediatric-Eating-Disorders-The-Medical-Care-of-Children-and-Adolescents-Paperback

If You Would Only Listen, by Elizabeth Woodcock (FEAST blog):

https://feast-ed.org/if-you-would-only-listen/

Guest Bio:

Anna B. Tanner, M.D. is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine. A graduate of Williams College, she completed medical school and residency at Vanderbilt University and then remained at Vanderbilt on the Pediatrics faculty in the Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine until moving to Georgia. Dr. Tanner has served on national and international committees for eating disorders education and advocacy, including the American Academy of Pediatrics Eating Disorder Workgroup. Dr. Tanner is a Fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics (FAAP), a Fellow in the Academy for Eating Disorders (FAED), a Fellow in the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (FSAHM), and a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist Consultant (CEDS-C). She is the author of the recently published Pediatric Eating Disorders: The Medical Care of Children and Adolescents.

Elizabeth Woodcock has spent more than 35 years in health care administration focused on the intersection of health care delivery and public health. An adjunct professor at Emory University, she was recently recognized by Modern Healthcare in the Leading Women Class of 2026, driving national change in healthcare in the United States. A graduate of Duke University, she earned her MBA from the Wharton School and her doctorate from Johns Hopkins University. With lived experience as a caregiver of a loved one with an eating disorder, Dr. Woodcock serves on the board of advisors of FEAST, and volunteers as a caregiver mentor and support group leader.