Associate Clinical Professor, Director of Training

Leslie Karwoski Anderson, PhD

Associate Clinical Professor, Director of Training

Leslie Karwoski Anderson, PhD - photo

Current Professional Interests

  • Etiology of and empirically supported treatments for eating disorders
  • Treatment outcomes research, particularly with regard to adaptations of Family Based Treatment (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
  • Treatment of atypical, complex, comorbid eating disorders
  • Supervision, teaching and training

Dr. Leslie Karwoski Anderson is a clinical associate professor, training director at UCSD Eating Disorders Center, and DBT- Linehan Board of Certification, Certified Clinician™. She has a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Kansas, and completed her clinical internship at Duke University Medical Center. Before coming to UCSD, she held a clinical faculty appointment at the University of Washington, was a supervisor in Marsha Linehan's DBT training clinic, and was a staff psychologist at the DBT Center of Seattle. She currently oversees the training and clinical supervision of the UCSD EDC staff, and conducts individual, family and group therapy for anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder and EDNOS. Her research interests are in treatment development, evaluation, and outcomes, especially with regards to adaptations of DBT and FBT, and she has published many journal articles and two books in this area (including the newly released Clinical Handbook of Complex and Atypical Eating Disorders). She frequently gives talks and workshops on DBT, eating disorders, suicidality, and related topics in the community and at national conferences. She has served in several leadership roles within the Academy of Eating Disorders, and is the co-editor of Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention.

Publications and Presentations

  1. Lavender, J.M., Reilly, E.E., Berner, L.A., Brown, T.A., Cusack, A., Anderson, L.K., Kaye, W.H., & Wierenga, C.E. (Under Review). Unique Associations of Weight Suppression with Eating Disorder Symptoms in Anorexia Nervosa-Spectrum and Bulimia Nervosa-Spectrum Disorders. Appetite.
  2. Brown, T.A., Cusack, A., Anderson, L.K., Reilly, E. E., Berner, L. A., Wierenga, C. E., Lavender, J., & Kaye, W. H. (Under Review). Testing the Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Deficit Model in Eating Disorders. Journal of Clinical Psychology.
  3. Brown, T.A., Cusack, A., Anderson, L.K., Trim, J., Nakamura, T., Trunko, M.E., & Kaye, W.H. (In Press). Long-Term Efficacy of a Partial Hospital Program for Adults with Eating Disorders. European Eating Disorders Review.
  4. Anderson, L.K., Claudat, K., Cusack, A., Trim, J., Rockwell, R., Nakamura, T., Gomez, L., & Kaye, W. (Under Review). Differences in emotion regulation difficulties among adults and adolescents across eating disorder diagnoses. Journal of Clinical Psychology.
  5. Boutelle, K.N., Braden, A., Knatz-Peck, S., Anderson, L.K., Rhee, K.E. (2018). An Open Trial Targeting Emotional Eating among Adolescents with Overweight or Obesity. Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 26, 1, 79-91.
  6. Anderson, L.K., Berner, L.A., Reilly, E.E., Trunko, M.E., & Kaye, W.H. (2017). Treatment Resistant Bulimia Nervosa: Clinical Implications and Future Directions. Psychiatric Times.
  7. Brown, T.A., Berner, L.A., Jones, M.D., Reilly, E.E., Anderson, L.K., Kaye, W.H., & Wierenga, C.E. (2017). Psychometric Evaluation and Norms for the Multidimensional Assessment of Interoceptive Awareness (MAIA) in a Clinical Eating Disorders Sample. European Eating Disorders Review, 25, 5, 411-416.
  8. Anderson, L.K., Smith, A.R., & Crow, S. (2017). Suicidality, Self-Injurious Behavior, and Eating Disorders. In L.K. Anderson, Murray, S.B., & Kaye, W.H. (Eds.). Clinical Handbook of Complex and Atypical Eating Disorders. Oxford University Press: New York.
  9. Wisniewski, L. & Anderson, L.K. (2017). Eating Disorders and Borderline Personality Disorder: Strategies for Managing Life Threatening and Therapy Interfering Behaviors. In L.K. Anderson, Murray, S.B., & Kaye, W.H. (Eds.). Clinical Handbook of Complex and Atypical Eating Disorders. Oxford University Press: New York.
  10. Anderson, L.K., Reilly, E.E., Berner, L.A., Wierenga, C.E., Jones, M.D., Brown, T.A., Kaye, W.H., & Cusack. A. (2017). Treating Eating Disorders at Higher Levels of Care: Overview and Challenges. Current Psychiatry Reports.
  11. Osborne, T. L., Michonski, J., Sayrs, J., Shaw Welch, S., & Anderson, L.K. (2017). Factor Structure of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) in Adult Outpatients Receiving Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT). Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 39:355.
  12. Parks, E., Anderson, L.K., Cusack, A. (2016). Adolescent Impressions of Family Involvement in the Treatment of Eating Disorders. In S. Murray, L. Anderson, & L. Cohn (Eds.), Innovations in Family Therapy for Eating Disorders: Novel Treatment Developments, Patient Insights, and the Role of Carers. Routledge: New York, NY.
  13. Simic, M., Anderson, L.K., Berner, L., Peck, S.K., Hunt, K., Kaye, W.H., & Eisler, I. (2016). When Family Therapy isn't Enough: New Treatment Directions for Highly Anxious and Dysregulated Adolescents with Anorexia Nervosa. In S. Murray, L. K. Anderson, & L. Cohn (Eds.), Innovations in Family Therapy for Eating Disorders: Novel Treatment Developments, Patient Insights, and the Role of Carers. Routledge: New York, NY.
  14. Friedman, K., Murray, S.B., Ramirez A.L., Anderson, L.K., Cusack, A., Boutelle, K.N., & Kaye, W.H. (2016). A Systematic Review of Outcome Studies for Residential and Partial Hospital-Based Treatment of Eating Disorders, European Eating Disorders Review.
  15. Murray, S.B., & Anderson, L.K. (2015). Deconstructing “Atypical” Eating Disorders: An Overview of Emerging Eating Disorder Phenotypes. Current Psychiatry Reports, 17, 86.
  16. Anderson, L.K., Murray, S. B., Ramirez, A.L., Rockwell, R., Le Grange, D. & Kaye, W.H. (2015). The Integration of Family-Based Treatment and Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescent Bulimia Nervosa: Philosophical and Practical Considerations. Eating Disorders: Treatment and Prevention, 23, 325-335.
  17. Murray, S.B., Anderson, L.K., Cusack, A., Nakamura, T., Rockwell, R., Griffiths, S. & Kaye, W.H., (2015). Integrating Family-Based Treatment and Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Adolescent Bulimia Nervosa: Preliminary Outcomes of an Open Pilot Trial. Eating Disorders: Treatment and Prevention, 23, 336-344.
  18. Murray, S.B., Anderson, L.K., Rockwell, R., Griffiths, S., Le Grange, D., & Kaye, W.H. (2015) Adapting Family-Based Treatment for Adolescent Anorexia Nervosa Across Higher Levels of Patient Care. Eating Disorders: Treatment and Prevention, 23, 302-314.
  19. Murray, S.B. & Anderson, L.K. (2015) An Introduction to the Special Issue on Innovations in Family Therapy for Eating Disorders. Eating Disorders: Treatment and Prevention, 23, 279-280.
  20. Anderson, L.K. (2013). Review of Eating Disorders and Mindfulness: Exploring Alternative Approaches to Treatment. Eating Disorders: Treatment and Prevention, 21, 4, 374-375.
  21. Karwoski, L. & McCurdy, D. (2009). Exercise and depression. In R. E. Ingram (Ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Depression.
  22. McCurdy, D & Karwoski, L. (2009). Eating disorders and depression: Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. In R. E. Ingram (Ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Depression.
  23. Rand, K., Karwoski, L. & Ilardi, S.S. (2006). The cognitive neuroscience perspective allows us to understand abnormal behavior at multiple levels of complexity. In S. Lilienfeld & W. O’Donohue (Eds.), The great ideas of clinical science: The 18 concepts that every mental health practitioner and researcher should understand. New York: Brunner Taylor.
  24. Karwoski, L., Garratt, G., & Ilardi, S.S. (2006). On the integration of positive psychology with cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression. Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy, 20, 159-170.
  25. Muehlenhard, C.L., Peterson, Z., Karwoski, L., Bryan, T. S., & Lee, R.S., (Eds.), (2003). Special Issue of the Journal of Sex Research: Gender and Sexuality, 40, 1.
  1. Anderson, L.K., Murray, S.B., & Kaye, W.H. (2017). Clinical Handbook of Complex and Atypical Eating Disorders. Oxford University Press: New York.
  2. Murray, S.B., Anderson, L.K., & Cohn, L. (2016). Innovations in Family Therapy for Eating Disorders: Novel Treatment Developments, Patient Insights, and the Role of Carers. Routledge: New York, NY.
  1. Wisniewski, L., Cusack, A., Smith, A.R. & Anderson, L.K. (2017, June). Prioritizing Suicidal Behaviors in the Treatment of Eating Disorders: Evidence Based Approaches for Assessing, Targeting, and Consulting. International Conference on Eating Disorders. Prague, CZ.
  2. Koons, C. & Anderson, L.K. (2017, March 27-31). Dialectical Behavior Therapy Intensive. Behavioral Tech training at Sandy, Utah.
  3. Anderson, L.K., (2017, March). Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Philosophy, Skills, and Strategies. Seminar at Rady Children’s Outpatient Clinic.
  4. Anderson, L.K., (2017, January). Eating Disorders: Diagnosis, Etiology, and Treatment. Grand Rounds presented at Annenberg Center for Health Sciences at Eisenhower Medical School. Rancho Mirage, CA.
  5. Wisniewski, L. & Anderson, L.K. (2016, November 17-18). Treating the Eating Disordered Client with Multiple Problems. Behavioral Tech training at New Canaan, NY.
  6. Boutelle, K.N., Braden, A., Knatz Peck, S., Cotton, M. & Anderson, L.K. (2016, October). Treating Emotional Eating in Overweight Teens: The PEER Program. Symposium presented at Academy of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.
  7. Anderson, L.K., Brown, T., & Melekian, J. (2016, October). Dialectical Behavior Therapy: Basics and Applications to Adolescents with Eating Disorders. 3-day Training for Rady Children’s Hospital Legacy Project.
  8. Anderson, L.K. & Cusack, A. (2016, September). Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Eating Disorders. 16-hour training for UCSD Eating Disorders Center.
  9. Anderson, L.K., Cusack, A., Rockwell, R., Trim, J., Nakamura, T., Gomez, L., Murray, S., Kaye, W.H. (2016, May). Differences in emotion regulation difficulties among adults and adolescents across eating disorder diagnoses. Poster presentation at International Conference on Eating Disorders, San Francisco, CA.
  10. Cusack, A., Anderson, L.K., Trim, J., Nakamura, T., Gomez, L., Kaye, W.H. (2016, May). Emotion regulation difficulties over the course of partial hospitalization treatment for transdiagnostic eating disorders. Poster presentation at International Conference on Eating Disorders, San Francisco, CA.