My first guest, Dr. Katie Rickel, PhD is a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in weight management and health behavior modification. Dr. Rickel graduated summa cum laude from Duke University with a B.S. in Psychology. She earned her M.S. and her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Department of Clinical and Health Psychology at the University of Florida. Following this, Dr. Rickel completed a clinical internship in Health Psychology – specializing in obesity – at Duke University Medical Center where she was trained in the management of chronic pain, behavioral weight loss and surgical interventions for obesity. Dr. Rickel’s research has been presented at numerous professional conferences and has been published in scientific journals and peer-reviewed publications. She has also been featured on The Doctor Oz show and on local news and radio media.  Additionally, Dr. Rickel has been quoted in Women’s Health magazine, Health magazine, the Huffington Post, Yahoo! Health, and CurvyGirlHealth.com.

Dr. Rickel serves as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist at Structure House – a residential weight loss facility in Durham, North Carolina – where she provides clinical services and develops novel program enhancements. Most recently, she created a specialized program to treat binge eating disorder as well as a behavioral pain management program. She also developed a series of courses to educate and coach family members of overweight and obese individuals. In addition, Dr. Rickel strives to reach those individuals who cannot attend Structure House’s residential program in person. To that end, she has written a self-guided weight management workbook, “Structured for Life ®: 28 Day Weight Loss Action Plan” and has assisted in the creation of an online version of the Structure House treatment program.  In her spare time, Dr. Rickel is passionate about fitness and enjoys challenging herself in the areas of weight lifting, indoor cycling, and yoga.