Jean L. Kristeller, PhD, a clinical psychologist, has used meditation-based interventions for eating disorders and obesity for more than 20 years, and has received NIH funding for related research for the past seven years. She is active in research that explores the role of meditation and spirituality in the treatment of serious medical illnesses. Her current work examines ways to integrate meditative techniques into more comprehensive therapy or support programs for those suffering with cancer and binge eating disorder.
She began developing the Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training program more than 15 years ago, drawing on her work with Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program and on her research and clinical training in food intake regulation and eating disorders. She has completed an NIH-funded clinical trial, run collaboratively with the Duke University Center for Integrative Medicine, that confirmed the efficacy of mindfulness meditation in managing binge eating disorder. She has recently received additional funding from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine to continue researching mindfulness meditation and its affect on food intake regulation and obesity with Duke University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Kristeller has taught at Harvard University, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Indiana State University and is cofounder of The Center for Mindful Eating.