Walden Behavioral Care, LLC, which provides a full system of specialized care for individuals and families affected by all types of eating disorders, today announced Kate Craigen, Ph.D. as its new clinical director, binge eating and bariatric support services.
In the newly created role, Dr. Craigen will oversee the clinical direction of Walden’s dedicated binge eating disorder programming, one of the nation’s most comprehensive treatment programs for adults struggling with binge eating disorder, emotional eating, compulsive overeating, food addiction and related conditions.
Specifically, Dr. Craigen will be responsible for curriculum development, staff training and clinical supervision of related intensive outpatient (IOP) and outpatient programs conducted in eight convenient locations across New England. She will also collaborate on cases within Walden’s partial hospitalization, residential and inpatient settings.
Since 2003, Walden has helped thousands of individuals effectively regulate emotions, reduce binge episodes and normalize eating behaviors through a wide range of behavioral therapies. This includes individual and group therapy, medication management and nutrition counseling, as well as evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) and mindfulness-based interventions.
“While we’ve been treating binge eating disorder for many years, we’ve refined our understanding of what is truly required for a lasting recovery,” said Stuart Koman, CEO of Walden Behavioral Care. “Kate’s advanced knowledge of this complex disorder – and associated conditions – will ensure individuals always have highest level of personalized care.”
Additionally, Dr. Craigen will collaborate with various bariatric surgery providers throughout the region to improve post-surgery outcomes through the integration of complementary behavioral health services before and after surgery. She will also support ongoing curriculum development of a specialized track of intensive outpatient programming at all Walden locations for bariatric surgery populations.
“Whether you’re struggling with binge eating disorder, or preparing for bariatric surgery, there’s an important common thread: behavior change is essential to improving outcomes,” said Dr. Craigen. “My commitment is ensuring that all individuals have the best access to programming, skills training and education to meet their unique needs and personal goals.”
Prior to her promotion, Dr. Craigen was a clinician for Walden’s adult partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient programs at its Waltham clinic. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship and served as a clinical instructor at the Eating and Weight Disorders Program in the Department of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. She received her Ph.D. and master’s degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
