How To Become An Eating Disorder Psychologist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an eating disorder psychologist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

John Donahue Psy.D.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an eating disorder psychologist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $37.25 an hour? That's $77,475 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 14% and produce 26,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to an Eating Disorder Psychologist?

John Donahue Psy.D.

Associate Professor, University of Baltimore

I recommend continuing your training and education so that you can develop specialty areas. What areas of mental health practice are most meaningful to you? Perhaps it is working with a certain problem area (e.g., anxiety disorders); perhaps it is working with a particular group of people (e.g., children, military veterans, etc.); perhaps it is a type of therapeutic modality (e.g., Prolonged Exposure for PTSD). Whatever it may be, by continuing to train in specific areas such as these, you can develop the necessary expertise to become a specialist that is sought after because of the particular skills and abilities you bring to the table.

ScoreEating Disorder PsychologistUS Average

Salary

6.1

Avg. Salary $77,475

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.6

Growth Rate 14%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.6

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.20%

Asian 3.34%

Black or African American 6.18%

Hispanic or Latino 10.44%

Unknown 3.44%

White 76.39%

Gender

female 85.71%

male 14.29%

Age - 42

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 42

Stress Level

8.6

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.3

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.9

Work Life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an eating disorder psychologist

Explore eating disorder psychologist education requirements

Most common eating disorder psychologist degrees

Master's

42.9 %

Bachelor's

42.9 %

Certificate

9.5 %

Start to develop specific eating disorder psychologist skills

Skills	Percentages
Eating Disorders	46.49%
Psychological Assessments	14.06%
Psychiatry	13.53%
Substance Abuse	8.23%
Family Therapy	5.61%

Complete relevant eating disorder psychologist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New eating disorder psychologists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an eating disorder psychologist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real eating disorder psychologist resumes.

Research eating disorder psychologist duties and responsibilities

Assess patients in inpatient psychiatric hospital and outpatient settings, juvenile emergency detention and in open juvenile residential settings.
Provide consultation regarding appropriate placement/treatment of juveniles in the DJJ system.

Apply for eating disorder psychologist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an eating disorder psychologist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams