Testimonials

"I feel absolutely comfortable entrusting the care of my most therapeutically complex clients to the staff at EDCD. The years of training and experience amongst the clinicians are quite evident based upon the clinical experience with which my clients have been treated."

- Dr. Michelle Micsko, Eating Disorder Specialist at InSight Counseling

 

We offer the most effective treatment possible, because we have the best clinicians across the country supporting us.

We are committed to providing the highest quality of services to our patients by incorporating the latest proven therapies into our treatment program. This is why we established our Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The SAB, which is comprised of prominent eating disorder experts from across the country, advises the center on enhancing its treatment model. The SAB provides guidance on integration of clinical research into treatment, best industry practices and professional education. It also contributes advice and expertise on current or emerging issues related to the understanding and treatment of eating disorders.

Ultimately, the goal of the SAB is to ensure our patients receive the best clinical care possible, which provides them with the best chances for overcoming their eating disorders.

Members of our Scientific Advisory Board:

Joseph Christenson, M.D., Medical Director, Eating Disorder Center of Denver, Denver, Colorado
Dr. Christenson, in his role as medical director, leads the EDCD team in providing compassionate care for patients with eating disorders. He emphasizes the bio-psycho-social-spiritual model, the essential element of EDCD’s CAMSA TM approach. Dr. Christenson brings with him almost thirty years' experience in psychiatric medicine. He is a retired U.S. Army Colonel, having served at military posts worldwide, including two combat tours, before completing his 28 year military career in Colorado Springs. Dr. Christenson graduated from Johns Hopkins University, went on to the F. Edward Herbert School of Medicine, and completed his internship and residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington D.C. He is a member of the American Psychiatric Association, American Medical Association, Colorado Psychiatric Society and current president of the Colorado Springs Psychiatric Society. He is board certified in both general psychiatry and addiction psychiatry. Dr. Christenson fills much of his free time pursuing both physical and spiritual renewal in the glorious Colorado mountains.

Amy Baker-Dennis, Ph.D., Dennis & Moye & Associates, Broomfield Hills, Michigan
Dr. Baker-Dennis has maintained a clinical practice for more than 34 years and has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders since 1977. She was the founder and executive director of the Center for the Treatment of Eating Disorders and the executive director of the National Anorexic Aid Society (currently known as The National Eating Disorder Association). She is also a founding board member and fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders, a founding fellow of the Academy for Cognitive Therapy, and a founding member of the Eating Disorder Research Society. Dr. Baker-Dennis recently returned to Detroit after six years of teaching at the University of South Florida Medical School, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and at the Hamilton Holt Graduate School at Rollins College in Orlando, Florida. She has maintained a private practice in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan since 1988 and has taught at Wayne State Medical School, Department of Psychiatry. Dr. Baker-Dennis has received numerous awards for her contributions to the field of eating disorders, has published extensively and has presented hundreds of workshops both nationally and internationally on the treatment of eating disorders.

Guido Frank, M.D., Assistant Professor in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, The Children's Hospital, Denver, Colorado
With a doctorate from Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich, Germany, Dr. Frank completed an internship and worked as a post-graduate resident at the Psychosomatic Hospital Roseneck in Prien, Germany before relocating to the U.S. and working for three years in the Eating Disorders Research Department at the University of Pittsburg. He then went on to complete adult as well as child and adolescent psychiatry training, and a fellowship in biological psychiatry and neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Frank is currently the head of the Developmental Brain Imaging Program at the University of Colorado Denver at The Children's Hospital.

Laura Hill, Ph.D., CEO, COO, The Center for Balanced Living, Worthington, Ohio
Dr. Hill has provided treatment for persons with eating disorders since 1979 and conducted eating disorders research since 1984. She was the director of the National Eating Disorders Organization (now the National Eating Disorders Association) from 1990 to 1994, a founding member and current fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders, and the clinical director of The Center for the Treatment of Eating Disorders from 1994 to 2000. Dr. Hill is on the faculty at Ohio State University and has published and lectured internationally since the 1980s.

Walter H. Kaye, M.D., Director, Eating Disorder Treatment and Research Program, University of California, San Diego, Professor, Department of Psychiatry, San Diego, California
Dr. Kaye joined the University of California, San Diego faculty from the University of Pittsburg School of Medicine, where he was research director of the Eating Disorder Program, and where he received a NIMH senior scientist award. He attended Ohio State Medical School, trained in neurology at the University of Southern California, trained in psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, was a fellow and research physician at the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Program, and a professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburg. Dr. Kaye has authored more than 300 articles and publications throughout this career.

Family-Based Treatment for Anorexia Nervosa from Maudsley Parents on Vimeo.

Tamara Pryor, Ph.D., Clinical Director, Eating Disorder Center of Denver, Denver, Colorado
Dr. Pryor has more than 25 years of experience working in the field of eating disorders. Prior to joining EDC-D, she spent 15 years as an associate professor and clinical director of the Eating Disorders Program at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, four years as business manager and co-director of the Path Eating Disorders Clinic, and three years at Wichita Psychiatric Consultants as the director of Eating Disorder Services. Dr. Pryor has authored and co-authored articles regarding the eating disordered individual and has conducted workshops and presented research both nationally and internationally. Dr. Pryor is a member of the Eating Disorders Research Society, the Academy of Eating Disorders and the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals.

J. Verne Singleton, Chief Executive Officer, Eating Disorder Center of Denver, Denver, Colorado
Verne Singleton has been a healthcare executive for more than 30 years. Most of these years were in senior positions at several academic medical centers. Verne became the CEO at Eating Disorder Center of Denver in early 2008. He brings extensive knowledge from complex healthcare environments to the field of eating disorder treatment. Verne received his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of Minnesota and his master's degree in healthcare administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia.