My Research

It’s important to me to stay up-to-date on the science of clinical psychology, and to contribute to our understanding of OCD and related disorders. I am Clinical Research Director at HabitAware. Prior to this, I was an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, in the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for OCD and Related Disorders and the Assistant Director of the MGH Center for Digital Mental Health. I am also a member of the American Psychological Association’s Mental Health Technology Advisory Committee and chaired the Society for Digital Mental Health’s 2024 annual conference.

I study the role of shame and other emotions in OCD, body dysmorphic disorder, and related conditions. Shame is a central and deeply painful emotion that triggers responses like social withdrawal and concealment. For this reason, when it’s experienced at high levels it can lead to worse impairment and mental health outcomes. I am co-editor of a book entitled, “Optimizing Evidence-Based Treatment for Body Dysmorphic Disorder (Springer Nature). I also study emotional and cognitive risk factors for body image distress and related outcomes in medical patients who are facing changes to their physical appearance due to illness.

Additionally, I am interested in the potential for technology to enhance both our assessment of and treatments for mental health. My work at HabitAware focuses on developing and testing innovative tools to support people with body-focused repetitive behaviors and related conditions. At MGH, I was involved in projects to develop and test smartphone-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for BDD and OCD, and I received funding from the National Institute of Mental Health to develop and test smartphone-based assessments to improve early intervention for mental health symptoms.

My publications

My peer-reviewed publications can be viewed here.