Today, Kathy welcomes Dr. Michael Levine for part 1 of a 2-part episode entitled “things I’ve learned about eating disorder prevention from unexpected places.” These episodes are longer than our normal episodes and I will say 2 things about that – 1, it’s Michael Levine and I know him well enough that I can joke with him and say that Michael is verbose, and then some, hence the longer episodes. And 2, it’s Michael Levine, so we listen to everything he says, and learn from him and appreciate how verbose he is, and how generous he is with his wisdom, his knowledge, his time, and his kindness to everyone in our field.
To listen to part 2 of this conversation, please click here.
Michael also appeared on Episode 16 of our podcast entitled “Prevention and the 7 C’s“. It is rich with information and we encourage you to listen.
Michael P. Levine, Ph.D., is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he taught 33 years (1979-2012). In the field of eating disorders his commitment to research, writing, and activism focuses on the intersection between sociocultural risk factors, prevention, community psychology, and developmental psychology. He has authored two books and three prevention curriculum guides, and he has co-edited three books on prevention. In August 2015, as co-editor with his long-time collaborator and colleague Dr. Linda Smolak, he published a two-volume Handbook of Eating Disorders (Wiley & Sons Publishing). He and Dr. Smolak are currently working on a second, updated edition of their 2006 book The Prevention of Eating Problems and Eating Disorders(Erlbaum/Routledge/Taylor & Francis). In addition, he has authored or co-authored approximately 110 articles and book chapters, and he has presented his work throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, England, Spain, Austria, and Australia. He is a member of the advisory councils of The National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), the Center for Study of Anorexia and Bulimia (CSAB, NY), the Center for Balanced Living (CBL, Columbus, Ohio) and Monte Nido & Affiliates—Eating Disorder Treatment Centers.
Dr. Levine is a Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED), which has awarded him their Meehan-Hartley Award for Leadership in Public Awareness and Advocacy (2006), and their Research-Practice Partnership Award (2008). Dr. Levine is also a member of the Founders Council of the National Eating Disorders Association, which awarded him the Lori Irving Award for Excellence in Eating Disorders Prevention and Awareness (2004) and the Nielsen Award for Lifetime Achievement (2013). After living for 37 years in Mount Vernon, OH, with his wife, Dr. Mary A. Suydam, a retired (as of May 2015) Kenyon religious studies and women and gender studies professor, they moved to California in late June 2016, to live near UC Santa Barbara, where they both obtained all their degrees.
Michael Levine maintains the Levine Prevention/Sociocultural Factors TinyLetter email Group, which he uses to pass along information (e.g., research, advocacy, activism) related to prevention and to sociocultural factors to interested and involved people in the fields of eating disorders, body image, public health, dietetics/nutrition, community ad healthy psychology, social work, etc. As of mid-November 2016 there were 422 people in that Group, representing 24 countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, and the United States.