Big Ideas In Eating Disorders
In this series “Big Ideas In Eating Disorders”, join host Kathy Pike (clinical psychologist and professor at Columbia University) as we hear from the pioneers in the field of eating disorders who were part of building the modern foundation of the field. Each guest shares their personal and professional journeys and their one big idea that they have come to appreciate as central to eating disorders.
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Episodes
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Dr. Craig Johnson is the Senior Clinical Advisor at the Eating Recover Center in Denver, Colorado and the Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma Medical School. Dr. Johnson talks about how his academic career in psychology led him to the field of eating disorders and how his study in schizophrenia was the foundation to his early understanding of the field. They discuss the road and bridges that were essential to building the field of eating disorders, the importance of asking the right questions, the beginnings of the International Journal of Eating Disorders and the appreciation for the biopsychosocial model.
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Dr. Paul Garfinkel is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and a Staff Psychiatrist at Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. Dr. Garfinkel talks about how he got into medicine, psychiatry and then into eating disorders. They discuss the influences Hilde Bruch and Herb Weiner had on Dr. Garfinkel, prioritizing prevention strategies and messages about authenticity and not running away from hard things.
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Dr. Stewart Agras is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, research psychiatrist and Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stanford University. Dr. Fairburn gives the backstory on how he began studying Agoraphobia and how that eventually led into the field of eating disorders. They discuss Dr. Agras’ experiences studying medicine in England right after war, measuring behavior change and his big idea of making treatment better.
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Dr. Ruth Weissman is the Walter A. Crowell Professor of Social Science and professor of psychology emerita at Wesleyan University and Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Eating Disorders. Dr. Weissman shares how she got her start researching eating and weight disorders at a psychophysiology lab at Max-Planck-Institute for Psychiatry in Munich, Germany. Dr. Weissman highlights the work she did with Drs. Judith Rodin and Lisa Silberstein at Yale University as they developed their psychosocial model for eating disorders. Years in the making, Dr. Weissman’s big idea in eating disorders led to groundbreaking work on the economic burden of eating disorders.
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Dr. Chris Fairburn is a British psychiatrist and researcher, an Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford and he is known for his research on the development, evaluation and dissemination of psychological treatments, especially for eating disorders. Dr. Fairburn starts from the beginning and how it all stemmed from how he just wanted to see the world be a different place. They discuss the circumstances behind the case that launched his research career, a clinical trial they worked on together, his “big idea” and challenging old ideas.
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Dr. Kelly Vitousek is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where she also serves as Co-Director of the Center for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and is the Director of the Eating Disorders Program. Dr. Vitousek talks about her journey toward studying eating disorders and starting out with a publication in Psychological Bulletin as a college graduate. They discuss focusing of the distinguishing features of the disorder that set it apart and her big idea about embracing the extreme behaviors that align with anorexia and nervosa.
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Tuesday Mar 17, 2026
Timothy Walsh, MD, FAED, is the William and Joy Ruane Professor of Pediatric Psychopharmacology in the Department of Psychiatry at Columbia University and the author, editor, and co-editor of five books on adolescent health and eating disorders. Dr. Walsh talks about how he got interested in medicine, psychiatry and eating disorders and how he learned the value in knowing what people are eating and not just what they tell you they are eating. They discuss the way people engage in behavior, separating the behavior change from the habit and emphasizing the need to not only be curious and skeptical but also have a passion for research.