PhD/PsyD Eating Disorder programs for clinical psych PhD?

[LemonDrop0917]

I am currently an undergraduate student majoring in psychology and I am about to start applying for Graduate programs in a few months. I would like to get a Clinical Psych PhD, however I really want to focus my studies on eating disorders. I have done a lot of research and it appears that there aren't many schools with professors actively studying eating disorders and I would really like to stay in the South East region of the country. Are there any good programs in that area that would have an option to study eating disorders? If not, are there any alternative options to specializing in eating disorders that would allow me to work with these patients in the future? Thanks for any help anyone can give me!!

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[WisNeuro]

When you specialize that much, you got to be willing to be flexible geographically. McLean is pretty prestigious. Kelly Klump studies eating disorders at Michigan State. Pam Keel is in Florida I believe, that's the only Southeast location I can think of off the top of my head. Just as an FYI, if you are limited to just one region, you are gonna make it very hard on yourself. Not only for grad school admission, but also internship, and fellowship, and job placement...

 

[LisaLisa86]

The ED field isn't that big... which is good, in the sense that you will be able to figure out the big players pretty fast, but bad, because you can't be as picky about where you end up. It's also a very competitive subfield.

Go onto your school's website, and look up all the eating journals. Find the articles that interest you and see who wrote them. You might also want to check out the website/programs for the major eating/intervention conferences like AED, TOS, EDRS, ABCT, etc. and see what interests you. Figure out if you're interested in BN, AN, BED, Night Eating, Obesity, etc. and what within each area interests you, and if your interest in eating reaches into any other areas (ex. health habits, behavioral medicine, health psych), and if you're interested in adults versus children. It's a long process, especially if you haven't been in the subfield. You might also want to consider RA/RC positions within eating, although those are quite competitive as well- but a great way to get into a PhD program.

Good luck!

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I'd highly rec getting experience as a tech or RA to get exposure to the population. It can be a tough pop to work w bc of the relapse rate and related comorbidities.

 

[cara susanna]

The program isn't in the northeast, but I'd highly recommend applying to work with Kyle DeYoung at the University of North Dakota.

You could look into UNC as well--Bardone-Cone and Bulik are there.

 

[AcronymAllergy]

I know of folks who've come out of UAB who work in that area, although I honestly don't know if the program actually has faculty studying eating disorders or if those folks somehow made it work otherwise.

I also agree with those above who've said that while you ideally may want to stay in the southeast, broadening your geographic region is probably in your best interests.

 

[VeryHopeful2010]

Temple University (Eunice Chen), Michigan State (Kelly Klump), Drexel (Michael Lowe) - I don't know any farther south, though.

 

[ADDICTED2STATS]

Most of the eating disorder folks I know (a very small n) came out of the Southeast. You should check out Pam Keel and/or Thomas Joiner at FSU (though this is one of the most competitive programs in the country). Also, many faculty are broadly interested in some underlying aspect of pathology that may be relevant to eating disorders. For example, my interests are in self-regulation. I've never done anything on eating disorders, but I have a grad student who is doing a project which tests a model of self-regulation in an eating disorder sample.

 

[LisaLisa86]

Everyone has been giving very helpful information/names, but I still feel like it's better to figure out your interests first and then figure out the potential advisers, rather than asking people for the names of people who research eating. Most of the above mentioned names have fairly different research interests within eating, which might not be as obvious until you dig into the research and what you'd be studying/doing day-to-day. At the end of the day, it's all about fit, including how they feel you fit into their program.

But, I guess to get you started, here is a list of researchers off the top of my head- you can review their work and start figuring out what interests you:

Drew Anderson
Janet Tomiyama
Nancy Zucker
Pam Keel
Linda Craighead
Janet Latner
Traci Mann
Jennifer Lundgren
Marsha Marcus
Eunice Chen
Eric Stice
Denise Wilfley
Marian Tanofsky-Kraff
Kerri Boutelle
Michael Lowe
Kelly Brownell

 

[KillerDiller]

Agree with the advice to narrow down your research interests to a particular facet of eating disorders. A bonus for this is that you may find some labs in your area that aren't researching eating disorders specifically, but that would be open to moving in that direction. For example, there was a lab at my previous institution researching disinhibition and impulsive behavior. Some students in that lab took that in the direction of looking at BED, but that wasn't necessarily an advertised interest of the professor. Look for programs with a history of placing practicum students at eating disorder centers as well. If a program has an established relationship with a clinic, it sometimes opens up more possibilities for research collaboration.

 

[LemonDrop0917]

Thank you all SO much for your suggestions!! It was all very helpful and it gives me a great foundation for finding a good program. I will definitely check out all of your suggestions and recommendations. I appreciate your help

 

[ClinicalPsychPhD]

Great names mentioned, check out the following as well: Linda Craighead at Emory, Trent Petrie at University of North Texas, Suzanne Mazzeo at VCU

 

[LPS12]

Hi I'm currently looking into graduate school programs either Psy.d or PhD am open to both. However I am looking to specialize in eating disorders. Does anyone have any recommendations on the east coast? Thank you!

 

[Indiana_Jane]

Hi I'm currently looking into graduate school programs either Psy.d or PhD am open to both. However I am looking to specialize in eating disorders. Does anyone have any recommendations on the east coast? Thank you!

You’ll most likely want look for PI’s who specialize in this kind of research. But beware, limiting yourself geographically is risky- it often limits your chances of gaining acceptance into a worthwhile (aka non diploma mill) program!


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[WisNeuro]

Don't know any locations personally on the East Coast, know of some in the Midwest, South and West Coast, though. If you limit yourself to one area, as Jane mentions, be prepared to go through several application cycles. Grad school is hard enough to get into a reputable program with 2-5% acceptance rates on average, the coasts are even worse as they tend to get far more applications for the same number of spots.

 

[Justanothergrad]

There is a faculty at U. Kansas Clinical that does ED work - Kelsie Forbush. Like they said, don't apply regionally.

 

[cara susanna]

Again, Bardone-Cone.

Kyle DeYoung is at U of Wyoming now. Eating disorders are too niche to be geographically restricted, IMO.

 

[naturenurture]

I am applying to ED labs for clinical PhD right now and I have spent way too many hours researching most of the people above, so feel free to DM me if you would like to talk about my take aways! A few people to add to your list to check out:
Smith- UK (ed and sud)
Levinson- UofL
Selby- Rutgers (does bpd and nssi research too)
Smith- Miami OH (ed and suicide)
Jurasscio- Drexel

I have also heard great things about anderson, bardone-cone, de young, keel, klump, forbush, zucker, and others above! Once you narrow down your interests you will have a lot of great people to work with. It is also important to find a mentor who will let you explore your own interests in addition to what they do. Good luck!