Increase your understanding of biological responses to foods that impact mental health
Presented by Christina Cowger, LMFT
2 CEs available
Free for Marin CAMFT members and reciprocal chapter members!
Registration for this "live" training does not include access to a recording. Please read the full event description for all registration terms including refund policy.
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PLEASE NOTE: After you sign up here, you'll be sent instructions on how to complete a separate registration step with Zoom, which is how you will get your Zoom link. You can do that in advance, or right before the meeting begins. This lets us more accurately track attendance in the Zoom meeting for our compliance purposes as a CE provider.
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Workshop Description
This lecture will explore the powerful intersection of nutrition, brain function, and emotional homeostasis. With a focus on the neurobiology of mood and cravings, participants will learn how dietary patterns, especially those high in sugar, fat, and alcohol, can activate brain regions that reinforce reward-seeking behaviors, emotional dysregulation, and food addiction cycles. Links between glycemic dysregulation and anxiety will be explored via case studies.
The course also examines how early trauma alters the development of brain systems involved in emotional regulation and impulse control. Childhood adversity is shown to sensitize the stress response and reward circuitry, increasing lifelong vulnerability to cravings, disordered eating, and mood instability. These early imprints on the limbic system and HPA pathway create a neurobiological foundation.
Participants in this training will explore the biochemical roles of key neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and GABA as well as the hormonal regulators cortisol and insulin in the development and treatment of anxiety, depression, and eating behaviors. The mechanism of action of high sugar intake temporarily boosts serotonin and dopamine levels, creating a short-lived sense of pleasure and calm, yet often leading to rebound irritability, cravings, and depressive symptoms. Over time, chronic consumption of refined carbs may dysregulate neurotransmitter signaling and contribute to blunted reward sensitivity, a hallmark of both mood disorders and addictive behaviors.
This course is designed for therapists, psychologists and health professionals seeking to incorporate nutritional neuroscience and trauma-informed perspectives into their clinical work.
Educational Goals
This training offers a practical understanding of how nutritional intake, glycemic balance, cravings, and early life experiences converge to shape mental health and compulsive behaviors.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this workshop, participants should be able to:
- Describe the neurochemical pathways by which sugar and fat consumption influence key neurotransmitters.
- Explain the role of cortisol and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in chronic stress and emotional eating.
- Summarize the emerging research on GLP-1 receptor agonists (e.g., semaglutide).
- Identify patterns of eating behaviors and poor glycemic regulation in clinically presenting anxiety, panic, and depression.
- Identify at least one cultural, socioeconomic, or marginalized status factor that contributes to food addiction risk.
- Apply psychoeducational strategies in clinical practice to help clients understand the emotional impact of dietary choices.
Presenter Christina Cowger, LMFT
Christina Cowger, LMFT is a licensed psychotherapist and seasoned clinical educator specializing in the intersection of neurobiology, complex illness, inflammation, trauma, and mood disorders. With over two decades of experience, she has developed and directed innovative behavioral health programs across outpatient, residential, and academic settings. Her clinical philosophy bridges neuroscience, integrative medicine, with attachment theory, DBT and developmental trauma theory, creating a holistic approach to mental health. Christina has delivered continuing education seminars nationwide, partnering with organizations such as Stanford University, Kaiser Permanente, CAMFT, and Sutter Health to train medical and mental health professionals in advanced neuroendocrine and psychoneuroimmune concepts. She holds an undergraduate degree from Syracuse University, a master’s degree in counseling psychology from Sonoma State University and a certification in Health Education from CIIS. Christina’s CE lectures distill decades of clinical insight and research into actionable strategies for integrated care.
PLEASE NOTE: By registering for this event you are consenting to a recording being made which may include your voice and/or image. By registering for this event, you are agreeing for your likeliness to possibly be used by Marin CAMFT.
Also, while we plan to produce this training as an on-demand program, registration for the different formats of a program is offered separately and each is sold through a different platform. Registering for this Zoom training does not include access to any recording or an on-demand version. If you cannot attend "live" on the training date listed here, please do not register for this Zoom training, and instead, check Marin CAMFT On-Demand for the recorded program at a later date. If you register for this "live" training and are unable to attend, please cancel your registration per the terms below which govern our refund policies for this event.
You will be sent instructions on how to register with Zoom to get your personal Zoom link to use for attendance. Please read the email confirmation you receive after signing up on the Marin CAMFT website for these instructions.
Attendance at the live event in full and completion of the evaluation at the end qualifies for 2 hours of Continuing Education (2 CEUs).
Date: Friday, September 12
Time: 12:00 to 2:00 pm Pacific
Cost: Free for Marin CAMFT members and reciprocal members, $30 for non-members.
Location: Online via Zoom. Instructions for registering with Zoom, in order to receive your Personal Zoom Join Link, will be sent in your confirmation message from Marin CAMFT. You will need to complete that second Zoom-registration step in order to receive your Zoom Link by email.
Additional Information about Marin CAMFT CE Programs
For more information about the Friday Continuing Education Series or about joining the Marin CAMFT Continuing Education Committee, please contact our Director of Programs Norman Hering.
- Continuing Education: This workshop meets the qualifications for 2 hours of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LEPs and/or LPCCs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. These CEs will be provided by Marin CAMFT (CAMFT Provider # 56895), which is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and LEPs. We regret that at this time we are not able to provide CE units for Licensed Psychologists. Participants must attend the full duration of the program (on Zoom, or in person, per event details above) and complete the course evaluation to receive the CE completion certificate. Marin CAMFT maintains responsibility for this program and its contents. Contact our Director of Programs for more information.
- Continuing Education Goal: Marin CAMFT is committed to offering continuing education courses to train LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and LEPs to treat any client in an ethically and clinically sound manner based upon current accepted standards of practice.
- Refund Policy: Our refund policy requires a $20 processing fee, and we must be notified in advance of the event if you would like to cancel. We do not provide refunds in case of non-attendance by the registrant. Please contact our Director of Programs with any questions.
- Request for Accommodations: If you need accommodations for this event, please contact the Director of Programs.
- Grievance Procedure: Marin CAMFT will respond to complaints in a reasonable, ethical and timely manner, when submitted by program attendees in writing to the Director of Programs.
- Anti-Discrimination Policy: Marin CAMFT shall not discriminate against any individual or group with respect to any service, program or activity based on gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, race, creed, national origin, citizenship status, religion, age, ability, or other prohibited basis. Marin CAMFT does not require attendees to adhere to any particular religion or creed in order to participate in training. Marin CAMFT will not promote or advocate for a single modality of treatment that is discriminatory or likely to harm clients based on current accepted standards or practice.
Continuing education credits are available for attendance in the Zoom presentation. You must stay on the Zoom meeting for the entirety of the training and complete the course evaluation afterward in order to receive a completion certificate. Because of the requirement to attend the training in full, if you attempt to log in to the Zoom late, after the training is already underway, you may not be admitted. Please log onto the event promptly at the listed start time.
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