Keynotes, Publications & Conferences

Dr. Conviser in collaboration with Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, launched the first James F. Drennan Memorial Lecture on November 13, 2019. This presentation was the first in a series of endowed lectures dedicated to eating disorder prevention, awareness, education, and importantly improving access to care for eating disorders. Because of the most generous gift bequeathed by Jim Drennan, this lecture series will be endowed at least yearly and into perpetuity.

A chapter entitled: “Body Image and Feeding and Eating Disorders among Athletes: Best Practices for Assessment and Treatment”, was authored by Justine J. Reel, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Jenny H. Conviser, Northwestern University, and Amanda S. Tierney, The Victory Program at McCallum Place. It is slated for publication by The Routledge Handbook of Clinical Sport Psychology in the fall of 2020. This chapter will be located in the section titled, Psychological Distress in Athlete and Sport Populations: Epidemiological Considerations.

Dr. Conviser joined the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine & Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in teaching the Health Psychology Seminar Series: “Principles of Sport & Performance Psychology” in October of 2019.

At the The International Conference of The Association of Applied Sport Psychology, (AASP), we lead the Panel Discussion entitled; Making Weight: Risks and Rewards. Participants included; Jenny Conviser (Chair), Northwestern University & Ascend Consultation in Health Care, Sharon Chirban, Division of Sports Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Michele Kerulis, Northwestern University, Caitlyn Hauff, University of South Alabama, Christine Selby, Husson University, and Riley Nickols, The Victory Program at McCallum Place. Also, at AASP, Dr. Conviser continued her leadership role planning and organizing meetings as Chair of AASP’s Eating Disorders Special Interest Group.

In attendance at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, in Krakow, Poland, Dr. Conviser presented preliminary but promising results of Ascend’s research on the effects of Osteogenic loading on low bone mineral density to the World Congress on Osteoporosis, American College is Sports Medicine and The International Society of Diabetes. The news is getting out that bioDensity exercise once a week has significant benefits to those with osteoporosis and type two diabetes. In the past year, 83 percent of clients regularly participating have experienced improvements or stabilization in their DEXA values. Additionally, in our largest study ever, over 140 individuals reduced their A1c.

Ascend’s staff, friends, family and puppies were pleased to participate in the National Eating Disorders (NEDA) Walk 2019 in Chicago’s Lincoln Park on October 20th, where Ascend welcomed over 250 visitors to their booth.

In July of 2019, the Victory Program Conference 2019 was held in Berkley, California. The Victory Program’s home is the McCallum Place. There Dr. Conviser presented a keynote presentation entitled “Eating Disorders Among Athletes: The Power of the Intangibles”.

Ascend in collaboration with Opernfest Prague, continued their international pursuits working remotely with superior vocal and instrumental artists from around the world.  In July 2019, Ascend’s staff traveled to the Czech Republic, where they were privileged to work with professional opera singers representing eight different countries. Ascend’s staff assisted clients in cultivating mental skills for optimizing superior performance.

To learn more about our work Ascend, Chicago bioDensity and the Illinois Sport & Performance Institute, click the links above.