Introduction
I am a Ph.D. licensed clinical psychologist trained as a cognitive-behavioral therapist with 40 years of experience diagnosing, assessing, and treating children, adolescents, and adults. I specialize primarily in anxiety and anxiety-related disorders, bipolar and bipolar- spectrum disorders, and overeating and eating disorders. I was honored to be included In Good Housekeeping's list of "The 327 Best Mental Health Experts" in the United States based on nominations from professional peers across the country.
I am recognized nationally and internationally as an expert in anxiety disorders. From its inception, my graduate education, post-doctoral fellowship, and then practice specialized in anxiety disorders. I have seen literally thousands of patients who suffer from anxiety over the course of my career. Beyond extensive practice experience, my focus on anxiety disorders extended to other roles as a psychologist- as a professor, clinic director, clinical supervisor, researcher, and author. As a researcher, I was fortunate to obtain, as principal or co-co-principal investigator, over $10,000,000 in funding from the National Institute of Mental Health to study anxiety disorders. This research generated dozens of scientific articles published in peer reviewed journals.
I strongly believe that best practice is backed by best science. The "marriage" of the two- science with practice - produces evidence-based treatment, that is, treatment proven to work. The cognitive-behavioral treatment I use, for anxiety disorders and the other disorders I treat, are all founded in science.
As founder and Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Anxiety Disorders, I played a pivotal role in getting cutting edge research findings to other professionals and clinicians practicing in this field. In this way, therapists became equipped to use science in their practices. In addition to the many professional/textbooks I authored and edited, I wrote Help for Worried Kids: How Your Child Can Conquer Anxiety and Fear, for parents of anxious children, again bringing guidance rooted in science to people in the real world.
Anxiety disorders commonly cooccur with mood disorders, such as depression and bipolar disorder. Throughout my practice I have treated these comorbid disorders but during the past two decades I have narrowed my focus to specialize in working with bipolar patients, as well as partners, family members, and other loved ones connected to people who have this illness.
Psychologists who have expertise in this area are few. Historically, the field was dominated by psychiatrists prescribing mood stabilizing medications to treat the illness. While medication almost always is a necessary component of treatment for bipolar disorder (especially those with bipolar I disorder, the more serious form of the illness), we now know that there are psychologically based therapies that significantly improve patients' lives, over and above that obtained with medication alone. In other words, medication is necessary in the treatment of bipolar disorder, but not sufficient.
I specialize in the diagnosis, assessment, and cognitive-behavioral treatment of adults with bipolar disorder, and work extensively with partners, family members, and other loved ones of those who have the illness. My book, When Someone You Love is Bipolar, was written especially to help address the needs of people connected to individuals suffering from bipolar disorder.
Perhaps because of the scarcity of psychologists working in this area, and/or the publication of my book, I have received a lot of attention from the national and international "bipolar community." Through videoconferencing I have worked with a great many people who have bipolar disorder and their loved ones throughout the United States and across the world.
Overeating, binge eating, and obesity, also is a strong focus of my practice. Overeating is a behavior used by many as a "coping technique" to deal (or, really, not deal) with emotional problems. People with anxiety and mood disorders often "self-medicate" with food. Like traditional forms of substance abuse- alcohol, drugs-- food can play a similar role as an unhealthy strategy to manage psychiatric disorders.
My book, The 5 Reasons Why We Overeat, outlines my psychological treatment program for eliminating overeating. Again, rooted in techniques scientifically proven to work, this treatment approach has been dramatically effective with my patients. The book also has been tremendously helpful to others outside my practice, based on the volume of emails I receive. Here again we see that bringing science to people in the real world truly delivers success. This book generated tremendous media attention, including an interview with Barbara Walters on ABC's "The View."
Work in all three of my specialty areas has generated national and international media attention. Here are a few examples:
Newspapers: The New York Times; USA Today; The Washington Post; The Miami Herald; The Boston Globe
Magazines: US; Better Homes and Gardens; Ladies Home Journal; Parenting; Redbook; Good Housekeeping
Television: ABC's "The View" (Barbara Walters); CNBC's "Healthy Solutions" (Mariette Hartley); MTV
Radio: Doctor Radio on SiriusXM; SONY Worldwide Radio Network; Wireless Flash Radio; Positive Parenting
Web: WebMD; Psychcentral.com/bipolar; Weightwatchers; About.com/Bipolar Disorder; bphope.com