Name: Anne Claire Grammer
Class Year: 2016
Internship Placement: The Eating Disorder Assessment and Treatment Program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. My hope is to improve my overall research skills while deepening my understanding of eating disorder research through training and assessment methodology and gaining clinical outpatient exposure.
What’s happening? We’d love to hear how your internship is going!
This summer, I’m interning in the Eating Disorder Assessment and Treatment Program at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where I am engaged in several research projects examining pediatric and adolescent disordered eating. The studies being conducted have exposed me to the diversity of eating disorder research, from the heterogeneous populations that are affected to the multiple treatment approaches that are assessed and utilized to meet individual patient needs. Some of the research questions we are investigating include: the effect of acculturation and religiosity on eating disorder pathology in an ethnically diverse sample of college women, the potential use of atypical antipsychotics for a specific group of adolescents with anorexia nervosa, the effectiveness of forgiveness interventions for trauma survivors, and the differential effectiveness of three, short-term therapies for reducing body image dissatisfaction among college women. Additionally, I hope to witness the application of research to clinical practice by occasionally observing eating disorder outpatient therapy sessions. I am grateful that this internship has provided me with the opportunity to acquire different research skills while exposing me to what it actually looks like to struggle with disordered eating.
Why I applied for my internship:
I started researching at CHOP in January as part of a Praxis 3 program, and I was eager to see the full development of the projects we were starting. Being here full time this summer has allowed me to dive into the work we are doing and see progress as a result of consistent project management.
How I heard about my internship:
I actually used good ole fashion Google for this one, which led me to my supervisor’s lab. She was willing to take me on as a Praxis student, and she has encouraged me to continue researching this summer and throughout my senior year.