DR. KIM

Eating Disorders Support.COM

located just outside of Seattle, Washington

About Dr. Kim Lampson

This page is more personal than one would usually find on a bio page for a psychologist. The reason for this is that Dr. Kim is the author of The Hopeline and this newsletter is very personal. A very professional autobiographical sketch somehow did not fit. We will be adding a link to professional credentials very soon. What follows is a bit of Dr. Kim's story that ultimately led to the writing of The Hopeline.

Growing up in Verona, New Jersey, as virtually an only child, Dr. Kim was the youngest by far (15 years difference in age between her and her older sister) in a family of two children. Her childhood was relatively unremarkable for the times. She spent much time with friends playing neighborhood games like kickball and baseball, Barbies, and various board games, since TV time was closely regulated and personal computers had not yet arrived upon the scene. When a young teenager, she heard about Twiggy, the fashion model of the 70's who launched the new look of the decade, "seventeen and starved". Intrigued by the idea that losing weight solved all of one's problems and brought wealth and male attention, she began experimenting with various weight loss methods (otherwise known as "miracle crash diets"). Ironically, she was a thin person by nature and losing weight was not necessary for health reasons and if anything, detracted from, rather than improved, her appearance (she did not realize this at the time). While in high school, she would restrict for two to three days and then would binge eat due to hunger. The diets introduced her to the idea that there were foods that were fine to eat, but there were "forbidden foods" which should be avoided at all costs. She became more preoccupied with food because of the dieting/binging cycle and was scared when she consumed lots of desserts at one time. Although focused on food and exhibiting disordered eating, she did not have an eating disorder at this point.

When she went to college, she was unprepared for and overwhelmed by the freedom. The poor eating habits she developed in high school resulted in poor eating habits in college and she, like many other freshman women, gained the proverbial "Freshman 15". Scared by life and the weight gain, vulnerable due to the end of a romantic relationship, Dr. Kim jumped on the suggestion by one of her friends to throw up after eating too much. Having no idea that this behavior would be anything other than a perfect solution to overeating and a simple way to lose a little weight, Dr. Kim began inducing vomiting after eating too much or eating "bad" foods. This innocent behavior coupled with a capacity for periods of restriction resulted in weight loss, not just the "freshman 15", but much more. At some point along this road, what began as innocent behaviors crossed the line and became eating disorder coping mechanisms. This was the beginning of what turned out to be an 8 year battle with anorexia nervosa.

During this time, she completed a bachelor of science in Higher Education Administration from the University of New Hampshire. While in New Hampshire, Dr. Kim stopped bulimic behavior and has not been bulimic since (that was over, and we won't say how much over, 25 years ago!!), however, substituting one behavior for another, she plunged deeply into an anorexic period. She then went on to complete a masters of arts in College Student Personnel in Higher Education from the University of Georgia. While in Georgia, Dr. Kim was maintaining a stable, very low weight by engaging in various and sundry bizarre eating disorder behaviors. At the same time, she was beginning to heal emotionally and to think about the world in a different way. The pull of the eating disorder was lessening and the desire to live life without it was becoming stronger and stronger. Little by little, she made changes in behaviors and attitudes.

In the latter stages of recovery, Dr. Kim came to Seattle Pacific University to take a position as Coordinator of Academic Support Services and later was a counselor in the counseling center there. It was while working at SPU that Dr. Kim discovered her passion for helping people in emotional pain and decided to pursue a doctorate in psychology so that she could go into private practice. It logically followed that she would combine her life experience with her interests and specialize in treating people with eating disorders.

Toward the end of her doctoral program, Dr. Kim was working in private practice with her colleague, Wallace Hodges, MD. It was he who unwittingly introduced her to Dan Reiff who was at that time working as a dietitian in a nearby hospital. Their relationship began by discussing their mutual interest in working with eating disorder patients and soon evolved into more than that. They were married about 3 years later.

Since that time, Dr. Kim and Dan have worked as part of an outpatient treatment team with Dr. Hodges helping people with eating disorders on their road to recovery. Dr. Kim spent much of her time then giving presentations and workshops about the treatment of eating disorders and writing the book Eating Disorders: Nutrition Therapy in the Recovery Process, with Dan. Since the birth of their two younger children, Dr. Kim has focused most of her energy on being a mother and severely limited travel for professional reasons. They have three children: one from Dan's previous marriage and two from their marriage.

If one could choose only a single word to describe Dr. Kim it would be passionate. She feels deeply about everything that she does from her family to her work to her avocations. Dr. Kim's passions now include family, writing, breeding exotic animals, and dancing.