Keynote
Individualizing Our Understanding and Treatment of Eating Disorders
Presenter: Cheri A. Levinson, PhD
Treatments for eating disorders have not improved in over 40 years, with rates of treatment response remaining steady at 40-55%. New treatments for eating disorders are urgently needed, especially treatments that are both data-based and personalized. This talk will discuss the past decade of research on an emerging treatment called Evidence-Based Personalized Treatment for Eating Disorders. A new generation of treatments are emerging that can work for everyone with an eating disorder.
- A network approach can improve eating disorder conceptualization and treatment
- Shifting from treatments developed based on averages to treatments based on the individual Eating disorders research can move the field of clinical psychology forward
- Personalizing eating disorder treatment using idiographic models An open series trial
Cheri A. Levinson, PhD
Dr. Cheri Levinson is a Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Louisville and Director of the Eating Anxiety Treatment (EAT) lab. She is also the Founder of the Louisville Center for Eating Disorders, which is the only eating disorder specialty clinic in the state of KY, where she treats patients, and supervises and trains other clinicians and students in evidence-based treatments for eating disorders. Currently Dr. Levinson is Chair of the KY Eating Disorder Council, which is a state-sponsored council charged with improving eating disorder treatment and access to treatment in KY.
Dr. Levinson’s research focuses on building new treatments for eating disorders, primarily using new technologies. To do this work she uses advanced analytics and technologies, such as individual network analysis, ecological momentary assessment, and wearable sensor technologies. Dr. Levinson has published more than 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts and chapters and four books, including two upcoming books on Evidence-Based Personalized Treatment. Dr. Levinson has been the primary investigator on several national grants and awards (7 currently funded grants from the National Institute of Mental Health), including four active clinical trials tested exposure therapy and personalized treatments for eating disorders. She has received several awards for her work including the 2023 Society for Science of Clinical Psychology Early Research 2023 SSCP Susan Nolen-Hoeksema Early Career Award, 2021 Association for Psychological Science Rising Star Award, 2020 American Psychological Association Theo Blau Award, and the Academy for Eating Disorders 2015 Outstanding Scientific Contribution Award.
Dr. Levinson’s clinical works focuses on the treatment of adults, adolescents, and children with eating disorders. She specializes in the treatment of comorbid disorders (eating disorders, OCD and anxiety disorders) using empirically supported cognitive-behavioral techniques. Dr. Levinson has worked in all levels of eating disorder care, including outpatient, partial hospitalization, residential, and inpatient care.
Before moving home to Louisville, Dr. Levinson trained at the University of North Carolina Center of Excellence in Eating Disorders (CEED). While at CEED, she trained in cognitive behavioral therapies, dialectical behavior therapy, family-based therapy for adolescents with anorexia nervosa, acceptance and commitment therapy, and mindfulness therapies for eating disorders. Dr. Levinson was a post-doctoral fellow at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, where she developed technology-based treatments for eating disorders. She completed her clinical internship at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. She received her Master’s and Doctoral degrees in the psychology department at Washington University in St. Louis. She completed her undergraduate degree in psychology and history at the University of Kentucky.
Plenary Panel
Topic: FREEDcan – A Canadian Adaptation of Early Intervention Service Models Designed to Improve Timely Access to Care
Presenter: Nicole Obeid
Topic: Family-Based Therapy Guided Self-Help Project, Advancing Scalable, Evidence-Based Treatments for Families
Presenter: Jennifer Couturier
Topic: Insights From the Development of Transition-Age Youth Guidelines, Aimed at Bridging Critical Gaps in Care for Young People Navigating Services Between Adolescence and Adulthood
Presenter: Gina Dimitropoulos
Nicole Obeid, PhD (she/her), is the lead scientist of the CHEO ED Research Lab and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Ottawa. She is internationally recognized for her expertise and research that examines risk, protective and maintenance factors for eating disorders; implementation science research related to early intervention for eating disorders; costing, screening and measurement data to inform health policy; and designing learning health systems.
Jennifer Couturier, MD FRCPC (she/her), is a child and adolescent psychiatrist and is the medical co-director of the Eating Disorders Program at McMaster Children’s Hospital. She is a Professor within the Departments of Psychiatry & Behavioural Neurosciences, Pediatrics, and Health Research Methods Evidence and Impact at McMaster University. Her research focuses on psychotherapy approaches for eating disorders, with a special interest in implementation of these treatments.
Dr. Gina Dimitropoulos, MSW PhD (she/her), is a Professor at the Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, and is cross appointed with the Departments of Psychiatry and Paediatrics. She holds the inaugural UCalgary Research Excellence Chair in System-Level Interventions for Equitable & Accessible Youth Mental Health Services. She is also an award-winning clinician, researcher, and mentor who has dedicated her career to bridging research and practice on eating disorders and youth mental health more broadly.