Alumni Spotlight

Mariya (2019-2021)

(Also, summer volunteer, 2018.)

Where are you now?
I am now a 3rd-year medical student at Sidney Kimmel Medical College and am so grateful for all that I have learned at Columbia!

Maya (2018-2021)

Where are you now?
I am a second year Clinical Psychology PhD student at Rutgers University.
Lab website

Words of Wisdom
Give yourself grace and be patient with yourself as you step into a new role.

Haley (2015-2018)

Where are you now?
I left the EDRU in 2018 to attend medical school at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons. In 2022, I graduated and began my residency in Pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital/Boston Medical Center. 

Words of Wisdom
Don’t be afraid to take time to explore different areas of interest!

Gabriella (2014-2016)

Where are you now?
I received a PsyD in clinical psychology at Rutgers University, where I gained experience working with many different populations/presenting issues. Now, I’m in practice doing sports psychology work.
Practice website

Words of Wisdom

• You have a long time to work (lol) so don’t put undue pressure on yourself to have everything figured out so quickly. It’ll all come together with time.
• Give everything consideration (I never thought I’d leave the city after EDRU, but I moved back home and went to grad school near home, and I ended up being so happy).
• Life is more than work so don’t lose out on what is important to you ever. At the same time, you are young and at the start of your career so go for different opportunities, even if it’s not sexy/you don’t get paid a lot…money will come.

Christine (2012-2015)

Where are you now?
After completing a PhD in clinical psychology at Drexel University, I am a T32 postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, where my research focuses on health behavior promotion (particularly related to eating) during pregnancy and postpartum, with a focus on the role of social determinants of health such as food insecurity, as well as promoting equity and social justice in clinical psychology training and research.
Lab website

Words of Wisdom

• Supportive, respectful mentorship is key. If you are considering a PhD program, remember that they are long (!) and you will be working closely with your mentor during that time – I feel incredibly lucky to have had a mentor who was supportive of my training goals, treated me as a junior colleague, was collaborative, and respected my life outside of grad school.
• I continue to seek mentorship like this, it’s more important than the exact topic your mentor studies, the reputation of your institution, etc. Ask other trainees about their experiences with a mentor, and potential mentors about their mentorship style and strengths and weaknesses.

Sima (2012-2014)

Where are you now?
I received a PhD in clinical psychology from Temple University and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy at Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School. I opened a private practice and worked part-time at a federally qualified health center that is part of Massachusetts General Hospital, and now work full-time in my practice.
Practice website

Words of Wisdom

• Advocate for yourself.
• Listen to what you need in order to keep the work meaningful and sustaining.

Katrina (2012-2014)

Where are you now?
Following my time as an RA, I became a Certified Yoga Instructor and then completed a post-baccalaureate premedical program at Bryn Mawr College. I went to medical school at the Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons, followed by a residency in psychiatry at NYU/Bellevue Hospital Center. I am currently a Chief Resident and plan to start a Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Fellowship in July 2024. Along the way, I’ve brought yoga and mindfulness-based skills to patients, caregivers, and other healthcare professionals in multiple settings. I’ve also had many poems published!

Words of Wisdom

• Even if you feel uncertain or scared about making a career change (for me, the choice to go do a post-bacc to potentially go to medical school) — you’re better off taking SOME STEP, seeing how that feels and where you land! You can always take NEW steps & change directions — but don’t NOT do something just because you’re afraid you might not like it.
• A loving-kindness meditation: “May I be happy; may I be healthy; may I be free from suffering; may I be at peace.”

Esther (2012-2014)

Where are you now?
I attended medical school, completed my residency in pediatrics and worked as an ICU hospitalist for a few years before moving in June 2023 to the West coast for a pediatric critical care fellowship.

Words of Wisdom
I would remind myself to continue to ask questions and be intellectually curious, to not strive for perfection, and to have compassion for myself.

Julia (2011-2013)

Where are you now? 
I am a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP, received at UCSF) in outpatient private practice in the San Francisco area, working with adults to provide medication management and therapy, and I work at a PHP/IOP for teenagers with eating disorders to provide medication management.

Words of Wisdom
There are a lot of ways to do rich and fulfilling work in medicine/the mental health field. Figure out what path feels right for you and do that. Don’t rush it, take your time to talk to people, shadow, and learn about all the different possibilities.

Amelia (2011-2013)

Where are you now?     
I am a licensed clinical social worker and the Assistant Director for a large community mental healthcare center in NYC. I also guest teach for a class at Columbia, supervise interns, co-teach a continuing education course for NYU and the REACH Institute, and maintain a small telehealth practice.

Words of Wisdom

• If something isn’t working, it’s okay to say that.
• Be kind, be compassionate.

Molly (2010-2012)

Where are you now?
I received my MD from Harvard Medical School, and completed a residency in Ob/Gyn at UCSF and a fellowship in maternal fetal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, where I currently practice maternal fetal medicine at with an emphasis on mental health and particularly substance use disorders in pregnancy. I also have an interest in community health and serve as Associate Medical Director for Ob/Gyn at our community health center sites. I’m still in touch with my RA colleagues, and we’ve even introduced our kids to each other!
Faculty website

Words of Wisdom

• Think about the things in your personal life that matter the most to you (family, friends, hobbies) and put them in your schedule first—the work things will fit in somehow!
• There are lots of ways of incorporating mental health care into a career that aren’t “traditional” mental health jobs. I use language I learned at the EDRU every day in my clinical practice counseling people about reproductive options and high-risk pregnancies!
• Take a deep breath—you can do this (and if I’m being honest, sometimes it’s “You chose this!”)

Rebecca (2008-2010)

Where are you now?
I completed a PhD in clinical psychology at Boston University and my dissertation was inspired by experiences I had co-leading the EDRU meal process group! I now teach full time as an Associate Senior Lecturer at Harvard University and have a small private practice.

Words of Wisdom

• Don’t be afraid to take the plunge – I was so hesitant about doing my PhD because of the time commitment – but it was totally worth it!
• Seek out mentors you click with and respect – having amazing mentors was game-changing for me.

Marina (2008-2010)

Where are you now?
After my position at EDRU as an RA, I was interested in learning more about anxiety disorders. I completed a PhD in clinical psychology at Drexel University, and most of my research since then has focused on anxiety and OCD. After my internship at the Boston Consortium, I returned to NYSPI as a clinical researcher in the OCD clinic and worked there for about 7 years doing research while starting a private practice. Currently, I’m mostly full-time in private practice while also teaching seminars and classes.
Practice website

Words of Wisdom

• Pursue what you love and the path to rewarding work becomes easier and clear.
• Try to talk to many people about their experience in the field and shadow if possible.

Amanda (2006-2008)

(Also, clinical psychologist, 2013-2015.)

Where are you now?
I completed a PhD at Emory University and then returned to the EDRU as a junior faculty member. From there, I moved to Florida, where I served as Clinical Director of ViaMar Health, an IOP/PHP clinic for eating disorders. Most recently, in early 2019, I opened my own practice in Florida.
Practice website

Words of Wisdom

• Keep your options open for as long as you can. I think I decided too early that I wanted to be in a primarily clinical role in my career, and I passed up potentially beneficial teaching and research opportunities because of that. Now I see that I could easily supplement my private practice work with some adjunct teaching.
• A person is not a problem to be solved, but a mystery in which to dwell.

Gillian (2002-2004, 2009)

Where are you now?
I am a clinical and school psychologist. I work some with people with eating disorders mostly using an internal family systems lens, and I work a great deal with the intersection of neurodivergence, trauma, and anxiety with a focus on the social model of disability. I often help neurotypical adults change their behavior in the service of the nervous system needs of neurodivergent kids.
Practice website

Words of Wisdom

• I would offer my younger self way more grace than I did at the time, because the beginning of a career in mental health is in many ways tougher than anything that comes after. I would tell myself what a big deal it is to really get a front seat to deep human suffering for perhaps the first time…and I would amp up the ways I cared for myself during that time.
• For someone coming to work at the EDRU, speak up about clinical opportunities you may want. Getting to do some clinical work and particularly work with yoga in my second year in the job was so huge for me and truly informed the rest of my career.
• “The only way out is through.”

Robyn (2000-2002)

(Also, post-doctoral research fellow, 2007-2009.)

Where are you now?
Following my PhD at Rutgers University, I returned to the EDRU as a post-doctoral research fellow, where I then received and completed a K Award. Now, I am an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Center of Excellence for Eating and Weight Disorders in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Program website

Words of Wisdom

• A research career requires lots of persistence and you’ll have to keep doing many of the same things you learned as an RA for the next few decades.
• Developing meaningful research studies often requires spending time with patients to better understand their experiences.

Catherine (2022-2023)

Where are you now?     
I am currently on internship (clinical psychology) at the University of California, San Francisco, where I am continuing my clinical and research training as part of the UCSF Eating Disorders Program, and the last step before receiving my PhD from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Kate (2021-2022)

Where are you now?
After my externship at EDRU, I completed my pre-doctoral internship at Jesse Brown VA Medical Center in Chicago, IL, and then received my PsyD from Rutgers University. Now, I am a staff clinical psychologist embedded in the Women’s Health Clinic at Jesse Brown, where I provide individual and group treatment to women-identifying veterans. Our VA serves an extremely diverse population, most of whom hold minoritized identities, and I feel fortunate to be providing services to individuals who otherwise may not have received them. Some of the areas I hope to expand upon are services related to eating disorders and peripartum mental health concerns.

Words of Wisdom

• Be curious about a wide array of areas during your training. You might be surprised by the clinical or research work you find yourself enjoying!
• Clinically, I like to keep in mind the saying, “Never never, and never always,” as in, there are no hard and fast rules about a clinical presentation, so always stay curious about an individual patient.

Loren (2013-2016)

Where are you now?
I was lucky enough to stick around at the EDRU and currently work as a research scientist, doing a mix of clinical work and research.

Words of Wisdom
It’s incredibly valuable to get a diverse set of clinical experiences, even if you are primarily interested in pursuing a research-focused career.  Getting exposure to a wide range of clinical settings (e.g., psych emergency room, forensic, consultation/liaison, college counseling, outpatient, etc.) with individuals living with a range of diagnoses and life stressors is very helpful in making sure that research questions and pursuits can stay tied to real-world applicability.  

Joseph (2020-2022)

Where are you now?     
I am an Assistant Scientist at the Center for Biobehavioral Research at Sanford Health in Fargo, North Dakota, studying various potential biological mechanisms (i.e., gut peptides, microbiome, EEG, fMRI) underlying eating disorders. Recently, I received my first NIH grant to study momentary fluctuations of gut peptides and how they impact binge eating in the natural environment. I also serve as the Clinical Director of Sanford Health’s Eating Disorder Unit, where my primary responsibility has been to establish empirically-supported interventions across all levels of care. Our program is one of the few in the US with a specialized higher level of care approach for severe and enduring eating disorders (SEED) to treat severely, chronically ill patients, and we are working to assess our multidisciplinary SEED protocol in hopes of creating a manualized treatment for SEED patients in higher levels of care. Finally, I am now a faculty mentor on the Midwest Regional Training Program in Eating Disorders Research T-32 fellowship.
Lab website

Words of Wisdom

• Always remember that the reason for the research is to help the patients.
• I have two mottos: 1.) What’s the function, and 2.) Be skillful.

Rachel (Summer 2022, 2023)

Where are you now?
Following my time at the EDRU, I am returning to school at the University of Rochester where I study Psychology and Philosophy and will graduate in May 2024. My time at EDRU helped me hone my skills in research, organization, communication, and writing. While I am not sure what path I take after graduation, I know that these skills will be an asset in whatever role I choose.

Kelechi (Summer 2022)

Where are you now?
After working at the EDRU, I completed my senior year at Amherst College. I wrote a thesis and used the thematic coding analysis that I learned at the Clinic as the main analysis tool in my ethnographic study. I was awarded cum laud on the thesis and my work was featured in our student newspaper! I am now about to start my first year in graduate school at Villanova University where I will be studying Public Administration.        

Words of Wisdom

• Ask as many questions as possible, especially when you are in the clinic. Everyone is extremely helpful and they want to see you succeed, so make sure that you are learning while you are there. You never know how what you learn might help you down the road.
• This is a quote that my college track & field coach had pasted to the wall of our indoor facility: “Success isn’t bought. It is leased, and rent is due every day.”