Nora Durkin, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Educational Psychology’s counseling and student personnel psychology program, was recently featured in the University of Minnesota’s Graduate School newsletter, Synthesist, for her work to improve understanding about the causes and consequences of eating disorders and to inform better treatment programs for the broad range of people who suffer from them.
“There is compelling evidence that eating disorder behaviors are used to help regulate strong negative emotions,” Durkin told the Synthesist. “For example, if an individual is feeling ashamed or sad, binge eating might help to reduce such feelings temporarily. This helps to explain why someone might continue to binge eat over time despite many consequences, including weight gain.”
Durkin is this year’s recipient of the Emily Program Fellowship which is given to Ph.D. students in the College of Education and Human Development with a preference for studying eating disorders.
