Earn Money While Developing a Specialty in Eating Disorders
Do you want to be an eating disorder therapist but don’t know where to get training? You might have gone through graduate school and gained a lot of experience working with people with anxiety and depression. But you may have no experience with eating disorders. Or maybe you have some experience but really want to develop a niche.
Most graduate programs provide little to no training in the treatment of eating disorders. The primary exception is clinical psychology doctoral programs that have eating disorder researchers on faculty. Even among these programs, only a small percentage of graduate students receive actual training in the treatment of eating disorders. And for most therapists receiving PhDs, PsyDs, MSWs, MFTs, and LPCCs there is no specific eating disorder training. Many therapists receive training on the job in residential and partial hospitalization programs.![Training eating disorder staff and graduate students in eating disorder therapy in Los Angeles, California [Image description: photo of Dr. Muhlheim using the white board to train other eating disorder therapists]](https://www.eatingdisordertherapyla.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/644A9420_ccexpress.jpeg "Eating Disorder Staff Training in Los Angeles, California | 94564 | 95540 | 95357 | 92506")
With eating disorders on the rise and not enough therapists trained in the treatment of eating disorders, Eating Disorder Therapy LA is committed to increasing the supply of competent therapists.
As a graduate student at Rutgers University, practice owner Dr. Muhlheim was trained in a research lab under Terry Wilson, Ph.D., one of the developers of the first evidence-based treatment for eating disorders. She is widely recognized as a leader in the dissemination of evidence-based treatments ever since:
- Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED)
- Credentialed as a certified eating disorder specialist and approved supervisor (CEDS-S) with IAEDP
- Core course instructor for the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (IAEDP) Certification Core Courses
- Provider of training on eating disorder treatment to other health professionals locally and worldwide
- Frequent conference speaker and subject matter expert for numerous publications
- Co-author of a paper on the scope of competence for eating disorders
Eating Disorder Therapist Training at Eating Disorder Therapy LA
Dr. Muhlheim opened Eating Disorder Therapy LA (EDTLA) in 2013. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Carcieri asked to work with her to receive guidance in providing outpatient eating disorder treatment. This was the seed of what has grown into a practice where Dr. Muhlheim can provide mentorship and training to more junior therapists looking to specialize in eating disorder treatment and become eating disorder specialists in an outpatient private practice setting.
![Clinical Consultation for Professionals and CEDS certification [Image description: photo of two people in therapy chairs] Represents a potential CEDS supervisor providing consultation to an eating disorder therapist in Los Angeles, California](https://www.eatingdisordertherapyla.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/644A9130_ccexpress.jpeg "Eating disorder therapist consultation in California | 90034 | 90232 | 90230 | 90066")
EDTLA employs licensed and pre-licensed psychotherapists (psychologists, social workers, family therapists, and professional counselors). Carolyn Comas, LCSW, CEDS-S is another certified eating disorder specialist and the clinical supervisor at EDTLA. Every other therapist at EDTLA receives individual and group supervision with Dr. Muhlheim or Ms. Comas. All therapists receive training in our three primary therapeutic modalities, including CBT-E, FBT, and CBT-AR as well as Health at Every Size®. We have bi-weekly staff meetings where training is provided on advanced topics in eating disorders. A generous yearly training stipend is provided to each employee therapist. They are then encouraged to select tailored training opportunities according to interest. Within eating disorders, therapists are also encouraged to develop sub-specialties, such as eating disorders and trauma, eating disorders in older adults, eating disorders in males, and ARFID.
Hours and supervision accrued while employed at EDTLA can count towards IAEDP certification, the only nationally recognized certification credential for eating disorders.
Eating Disorder Therapist Training for Doctoral Students
Eating Disorder Therapy LA is also privileged to be a practicum site for three local doctoral programs in clinical psychology. These programs include the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University, the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in Los Angeles, and Pepperdine University’s Clinical Psychology Doctoral Program of the Graduate School of Education and Psychology. Each year, up to two advanced-level doctoral students are carefully chosen through an interview process to be psychological externs at EDTLA. Psychological externs provide individual and group therapy to adults and teens. All of the externs receive extensive training through EDTLA’s training seminars and supervision program in order to provide quality therapy at lower fees than is usually found in Los Angeles.
If you are looking for a pre-licensed (unpaid) externship at EDTLA, please contact Dr. Muhlheim at drmuhlheim@gmail.com
If you are a pre-licensed or licensed therapist in the Los Angeles area interested in exploring employment at EDTLA and developing as an eating disorder specialist, please see our eating disorder therapy job description and our eating disorder postdoctoral fellowship information.