Challenges in diagnosis and treatment of comorbid eating disorders and mood disorders.

PURPOSE: This paper explores complex challenges in diagnosis and treatment of patients with comorbid eating disorders and mood disorders. An integrative review of the literature examines overlapping symptoms, phenotypes, neural circuits, and genetic factors for these disorders. A case study illustrates how the integration of knowledge from research and practice can inform a diagnostic formulation and multifaceted treatment plan.

CONCLUSIONS: Patients with complex clinical presentations inspire a search for research and clinical literature that helps build the neuroscience foundations of advanced practice.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Sharing clinical challenges and processes of discovery is a form of scholarship that promotes the evolution of advanced psychiatric nursing practice.