McLean Hospital’s Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (HBTRC) and the Foundation for Research and Education in Eating Disorders (FREED), an organization dedicated to helping determine the causes and risk factors associated with eating disorders, have partnered to establish the first and only national brain bank dedicated to research into eating disorders—the National Eating Disorders Brain Bank...
The Foundation for Research and Education in Eating Disorders (FREED) and the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center (HBTRC) at McLean Hospital today announced the establishment of the first and only national brain bank dedicated to research in eating disorders. The National Eating Disorders Brain Bank is a resource to the community to help advance studies to find the causes of eating disorders...
With multiple programs falling under the Division of Women’s Mental Health (DWMH)—each with varying areas of expertise from borderline personality disorder to trauma to eating disorders and more—Shelly F. Greenfield, MD, MPH, McLean’s chief academic officer and chief of the DWMH, saw a need for better opportunities for shared learning and interaction among clinicians and researchers from the...
In September 2013, McLean launched the Center of Excellence in Women’s Mental Health with Shelly F. Greenfield, MD, MPH, as its chief. We recently sat down with Dr. Greenfield to talk about the Center’s roots, goals, and projects. Horizons: What was the genesis of the Center of Excellence in Women’s Mental Health?Dr. Greenfield: The Center began through what we called the Women’s Mental Health...
Cultural icon Jane Fonda was this year’s recipient of the McLean Award, which is given annually to people who have furthered the public’s understanding of psychiatric illness and mental health. Previous honorees include David O. Russell, Glenn Close, and Mariel Hemingway. Fonda was recognized for her mental health advocacy and for raising public awareness about issues such as eating disorders,...
In 2013, McLean launched the Division of Women’s Mental Health (DWMH) under the leadership of Chief Academic Officer Shelly F. Greenfield, MD, MPH, whose vision is to enhance opportunities for clinical, research and educational collaborations across McLean that will improve the understanding of women’s mental health and provide better care for the disorders that are prevalent in women. Through...
With approximately 25% of the patients admitted into the Klarman Eating Disorders Center having a co-occurring substance abuse issue, Esther Dechant, MD, medical director for the program, recognized a significant need to treat both the eating disorder and the substance abuse simultaneously—a course that is not typically taken. “On admission, many of our patients do not even realize that they...
David J. Alperovitz, PsyD, earned his doctorate in clinical psychology from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology. He completed pre-doctoral training at Tufts University, a post-doctoral fellowship in psychology for the treatment of trauma and dissociative disorders at McLean Hospital, and a clinical fellowship in Harvard Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Alperovitz...
Esther Dechant, MD, received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School. She completed the residency program in psychiatry at Cambridge Hospital and a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital. Board certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in psychiatry with subspecialty certification in child and adolescent...
Mallory Dimler, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist in Massachusetts. She conducts individual, group, and family therapy within a multidisciplinary team setting at the Klarman Eating Disorders Center. She specializes in the treatment of eating disorders and anxiety disorders among adolescent and young adult populations. Dr. Dimler utilizes evidence-based treatment methods in her practice,...
Judith Halperin, PsyD, moved to the Boston area for her post-doctoral fellowship at McLean in 1987 and has stayed on both as an attending psychologist and a staff psychologist in a variety of settings including the Adolescent Family Treatment Unit and the Appleton Outpatient Substance Abuse Clinic. She is currently a staff psychologist in the Klarman Eating Disorders Center. Dr. Halperin has...
James I. Hudson, MD, ScD, SM, received his MD from Tufts University Medical School of Medicine and his ScD and SM degrees from Harvard School of Public Health. Joining McLean Hospital in 1980, he is currently a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and director of the Biological Psychiatry Laboratory and of the Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Program at McLean Hospital. Dr. Hudson...
Kristin N. Javaras, DPhil, PhD, is a clinical psychologist and statistician whose research and clinical practice focus on eating disorders and other eating-related problems. Her research combines psychology, neuroscience, and epidemiology—and uses innovative methodology and technology—to better understand the development and maintenance of eating disorders and other eating-related problems, with...
Kimberly H. Pearson, MD, is a specialist in the area of women’s mental health. She was previously director of the Outpatient Eating Disorders Program at McLean (2000-2003), and a senior clinician in the MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health (1999-2013). In addition to her private practice, she currently serves as the primary consultant at The Pavilion on all issues of reproductive psychiatry,...
Holly S. Peek, MD, MPH, received her medical degree from Tulane University School of Medicine. She also received a dual Masters of Public Health degree at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, with a concentration in global community health and behavioral sciences. She completed a residency program in adult psychiatry at Tulane University and a fellowship in child and...
Rachel A. Ross, MD, PhD, is a psychiatric neuroscientist with an interest in anxiety disorders and feeding behavior in basic science, clinical treatment, and social policy. Dr. Ross’ background is in biological engineering, neuroscience, and the gut-brain axis, with clinical expertise is in psychiatry and metabolism. She is the assistant director for the Research Concentration Program for the MGH...
Patricia A. Tarbox, MSW, LICSW has been a member of the clinical staff of McLean Hospital for over 35 years, working with a broad cross section of ages in various programs including the former Cognitive Behavior Therapy Unit, the former Women’s Treatment Program, and the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Institute. She was part of a core group instrumental in the development of a partial hospital and...
