Dr. Austin Aibel
Eating Disorder Therapist
Dr. Aibel (she/her/hers) is a Postdoctoral Clinical Psychology Fellow. She specializes in treating adults and youth with eating disorders, disordered eating, and trauma. She works from a psychodynamic, relational, and intersectional-feminist framework and utilizes a Health At Every Size (HAES) approach Dr. Aibel treats clients online and at the Chicago Loop location.
Education and Training
Dr. Austin Aibel received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver, where she studied psychology and biology. She received her Doctor of Psychology degree (Psy.D.) from the APA-Accredited Clinical Psychology program at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, in Chicago, IL. Under the mentorship of Dr. Anne Kubal, Dr. Claude Barbre, and Dr. Todd Dubose, she completed her dissertation, which focused on developing a framework for better understanding eating disorders in order to gain a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the lived experience of those affected. In addition, her work explored the relationship with the physical body, the language of symptoms, identification with the eating disorder, and traumatic experiences of treatment.
Dr. Aibel completed her diagnostic practicum at Frances Xavier Warde, a middle school in Chicago, She completed a one-year therapy practicum at Eating Recovery Center (ERC)/Insight Behavioral Health where she provided individual, group, and family therapy in an eating disorder treatment program. She then completed a one-year advanced therapy practicum at DePaul University Counseling Center, where she focused on individual therapy and student outreach. She then completed her APA-Accredited Internship at Wake Forest University Counseling Center, where she was a member of the Eating Assessment and Treatment (EAT) Team. During her time at Wake Forest, she provided individual and group therapy, crisis intervention/management services, and supervision for master’s level clinicians.
Dr. Aibel is completing her post-doctoral training at Birch Tree Psychotherapy and practices under the direct supervision of Dr. Devlin as she works towards licensure and earning her Certified Eating Disorder Specialist (CEDS) designation.
Current Clinical Interests
Dr. Aibel focuses on eating disorders and trauma in youth and adults. She loves working with clients with concerns related to eating disorders/disordered eating, body image concerns, trauma, anxiety/OCD, depression, identity development, and sexuality. She is also particularly interested in working with clients with co-morbid eating disorders who also have co-occurring medical conditions In her clinical work, Dr. Aibel approaches care from a psychodynamic, relational, intersectional-feminist, and Health at Every Size (HAES) framework. She incorporates multiple modalities for an integrated approach, such as, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Radically Open Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (RO-DBT), and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).
Professional Development
Dr. Aibel is currently a member of the American Psychological Association (APA), the International Association of Eating Disorders Professional Foundation (IAEDP), and the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED). She consistently attends continuing education events and is committed to life-long learning. Dr. Aibel has also presented at various professional meetings and national conferences.