Bio

Dr. Aileen Whyte, a licensed psychologist in California, brings over two decades of specialized expertise to the treatment of eating disorders in young people. Beyond her clinical practice, Dr. Whyte actively works on implementing strategies to expand the reach of evidence-based treatments for eating disorders, aiming to make these best-practice interventions more accessible to a wider population.

Dr Whyte serves as the Director of the Stanford Outpatient Child & Adolescent Eating Disorders Clinic, where she provides treatment to young people with eating disorders and provides supervision to psychology and psychiatry fellows. Dr Whyte is a certified practitioner and consultant in Family-Based Treatment (FBT) for eating disorders. She serves as a study therapist in NIMH-sponsored randomized clinical trials focused on examining FBT and related adaptations.

In addition to her clinical responsibilities, Dr. Whyte has led multiple seminars, workshops, and training sessions dedicated to the treatment of eating disorders. She provides ongoing training and consultation in FBT, reaching diverse audiences, including multidisciplinary clinicians, psychologists, and psychiatrists, within the US and internationally.

Dr. Whyte earned her PhD in Clinical Psychology from the New School for Social Research in New York. Her research and clinical interests converge on the implementation and dissemination of evidence-based treatments for eating disorders.

Clinical Focus

  • Clinical Psychology

Academic Appointments

Professional Education

  • PhD Training: New School for Social Research (1999) NY
  • Internship: Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center Clinical Psychology (1997) NY

Contact

  • Academic
    awhyte@stanford.edu
    University - Academic staff Department: Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Child Development Position: Clinical Associate Professor
  • Clinical (Primary)  Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences 401 Quarry Rd MC 5795 Stanford, CA 94305 (650) 723-8331 (fax)

Additional Clinical Info

Additional Info

All Publications

  • Feasibility and acceptability of a pilot studying investigating multi-family parent-only guided self-help family-based treatment for adolescent anorexia nervosa. The International journal of eating disorders Matheson, B. E., Van Wye, E., Whyte, A., Lock, J. 2024

    Abstract

    Family-based treatment (FBT) is an efficacious treatment for adolescent anorexia nervosa (AN). A parent-only guided self-help version of FBT (GSH-FBT) demonstrated preliminary efficacy in pilot investigations. To address challenges in access to care, we adapted GSH-FBT into a parent-only multi-family group format (MF-GSH-FBT) delivered via videoconferencing.This report details the feasibility and acceptability of a parent-only group-based multi-family GSH-FBT (MF-GSH-FBT) for adolescent AN delivered virtually. The MF-GSH-FBT intervention consisted of 12 weekly 60-min sessions facilitated by a clinician in addition to online FBT video content and recommended readings. Adolescents and parents completed assessments at baseline and post-treatment. Parents reported their child's weight each week.A total of 13 adolescents (15.57 + 1.63 years; 92% female; 23% Hispanic) with AN and their parents enrolled and initiated treatment. Four consecutive cohorts of groups of 3-4 families were completed from April 2022 to April 2023. Across cohorts, parents attended 85% of sessions. Most parents rated the treatment sessions as helpful (79%; agree/strongly agree) and felt supported by the other group members (84%). All parents (100%) reported MF-GSH-FBT helped their child, and most (90%) reported their child had improved by end-of-treatment. On average, adolescents gained 3.53 kg (SD: 3.76) from pre- to post-treatment, with percent estimated mean body weight increasing 5% on average. Parental self-efficacy also increased from baseline to end-of-treatment.MF-GSH-FBT for AN appears feasible and acceptable to parents participating in this pilot study. Challenges with recruitment and adolescent data collection remain questions for future investigation.This study describes initial pilot testing of a virtual guided self-help family-based treatment for adolescents with anorexia nervosa delivered in a multi-family group format. This treatment aims to enhance access to family-based treatment for anorexia nervosa whilst providing additional support to parents.

    View details for DOI 10.1002/eat.24182

    View details for PubMedID 38419434

  • Family Based Treatment for Eating Disorders Piece by Piece. A Practical Guide for Parents James, L., Aileen, W., Brittany, M., Nandini, D. Routledge. 2024

    View details for DOI 10.4324/9781003353041

  • Externalisation in family-based treatment of anorexia nervosa: The therapist's experience JOURNAL OF FAMILY THERAPY Lonergan, K., Whyte, A., Ryan, C. 2022; 44 (3): 351-369

    View details for DOI 10.1111/1467-6427.12380

    View details for Web of Science ID 000844229000001

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8474-5197