C. Alix Timko, PhD
Locations: Main Building
About C. Alix Timko, PhD
C. Alix Timko, Ph.D. is a Psychologist in the Eating Disorder Assessment and Treatment Program in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). She is a licensed psychologist and has expertise in acceptance-based behavioral approaches and family-based treatment for children, adolescents, and young adults with eating disorders. She specializes in the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and the treatment of anorexia nervosa. Dr. Timko also frequently treats children and adolescents with problems that commonly co-occur with eating disorders – such as anxiety, perfectionism, and body dissatisfaction.
Dr. Timko was formerly Assistant Professor of Psychology University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and Towson University in Maryland. She has taught numerous undergraduate and graduate level courses, including ones focused on child psychopathology, research methods and statistics, and cognitive-behavioral interventions. At CHOP, Dr. Timko supervises psychology interns and externs in the use of family based treatments and acceptance-based behavioral therapy with adolescents with eating disorders.
Dr. Timko’s research interests include the treatment and prevention of eating disorders in adolescent males and females, understanding the differences between dieting and restraint, and the use of acceptance-based treatment with adolescents and young adults with anorexia. She has presented her research on the use of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for the treatment of eating disorders both nationally and internationally. She has published more than 30 articles, book chapters, and written two books on the topic of eating disorders. Dr. Timko has received funding from the National Institute of Mental Health to develop an acceptance-based family treatment for anorexia. She also serves on the editorial board and as Associate Editor for a number of peer-reviewed journals.
Titles
Psychologist
Assistant Professor, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Leadership and Memberships
Memberships in Professional Organizations
National
2013-present, Association for Psychological Science, Member
2006-present, Association for Contextual Behavioral Science, Member
1999-present, Association for Behavior and Cognitive Therapies, Member
2001-present, American Psychological Association, Member
Editorial and Academic Positions
Editorial positions
2013-Present, Associate Editor, Frontiers in Eating Behavior
2011-Present, Editorial Board, Eating Disorders: Journal of Treatment and Prevention
2007-present, Associate Editor, the Behavior Therapist
Ad Hoc Reviewer
2013-present, PLoS One
2011-present, Mindfulness
2007-present, Eating and Weight Disorders
2006-present, Appetite
2005-present, Eating Behaviors
Education & training
Undergraduate Degree
BS in Psychology/German - St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY
Graduate Degree
PhD in Clinical Psychology - Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
MA in Clinical Health Psychology – MCP Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, PA
Internship
Clinical Psychology, Center for Counseling and Student Development, University of Delaware, Newark, DE
Publications
Publications
2015
Dakanalis, A., Timko, C.A., Carrà, G., Pla-Sanjuanelo, J.,Volpato, C., Clerici, M., Riva, G., Zanetti, A.: Mechanisms of influence of body checking on binge eating. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology 15: 93-104. doi: 10.1016/j.ijchp.2015.03.003, 2015.
Timko, C.A., Zucker, N., Herbert, J., Rodriguez, D., Merwin, R.: An open trial of Acceptance-based Separated Family Treatment (ASFT) for adolescents with anorexia nervosa. Behaviour Research and Therapy 69: 63-74. doi: 10.1016/j.brat.2015.03.011, 2015.
2014
Hormes JM, Orloff NC, Timko CA. Chocolate craving and disordered eating: Beyond the gender divide? Appetite. 2014 Dec;83:185-93.
Hormes JM, Kearns B, Timko CA. Craving Facebook? Behavioral addiction to online social networking and its association with emotion regulation deficits. Addiction. 2014 Dec;109(12):2079-88.
Dakanalis A, Timko CA, Carrà G, Clerici M, Zanetti MA, Riva G, Caccialanza R. Testing the original and the extended dual-pathway model of lack of control over eating in adolescent girls: A two-year longitudinal study. Appetite. 2014 Nov;82:180-93.
Timko CA, Martin LM, Juarascio AS, Faherty A, Kalodner C. Body acceptance: An under-explored yet important mediator of the relationship between body image dissatisfaction and disordered eating. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science 3: 203-211, doi: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2014.01.002, 2014.
Martin LM, Vildarga-Plumb JC, Timko CA. Examining the relationship amongst varieties of interpersonal valuing and mindfulness processes in eating pathology. Mindfulness 5: 111-123, 2014.
Dakanalis A, Timko CA, Zanetti MA, Rinaldi L, Prunas A, Carrà G, Riva G, Clerici M. Attachment insecurities, maladaptive perfectionism, and eating disorder symptoms: A latent mediated and moderated structural equation modeling analysis across diagnostic groups. Psychiatry Res. 2014 Jan 30;215(1):176-84.
Dakanalis A, Timko CA, Clerici M, Zanetti MA, Riva G. Comprehensive examination of the transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral model of eating disorders in males. Eat Behav. 2014 Jan;15(1):63-7.
Dakanalis A, Timko CA, Favagrossa L, Riva G, Zanetti MA, Clerici M. Why do only a minority of men report severe levels of eating disorder symptomatology, when so many report substantial body dissatisfaction? Examination of exacerbating factors. Eat Disord. 2014;22(4):292-305.
2013
Dakanalis A, Timko CA, Madeddu F, Volpato C, Clerici M, Riva G, Zanetti MA. Are the male body dissatisfaction and drive for muscularity scales reliable and valid instruments? J Health Psychol. 2015 Jan;20(1):48-59. doi: 10.1177/1359105313498108. Epub 2013 Aug 29.
Juarascio AS, Shaw J, Forman E, Herbert JD, Timko CA, Butryn M, Bunnell D, Matteucci AJ, Lowe MR. Acceptance and commitment therapy as a novel treatment for eating disorders: An initial test of efficacy and mediation. Behav Modif. 2013 Jul;37(4):459-89.
Merwin RM, Zucker NL,Timko CA. A pilot study of acceptance-based separated family treatment for adolescent anorexia nervosa. Behav Modif. 2013 Jul;37(4):459-89. doi: 10.1177/0145445513478633. Epub 2013 Mar 8.
Yean C, Benau EG, Dakanalis A, Hormes JM, Perone J, Timko CA. The relationship of sex and sexual orientation to self-esteem, body shape satisfaction, and eating disorder symptomatology. Front Psychol. 2013 Nov 27;4:887. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00887.
2012
Timko CA, Chubski J, Hormes J. Will the real vegetarian please stand up? Eating disorder symptomatology and its relationship to true vegetarianism. Appetite. 2012 Jun;58(3):982-90.
Timko CA, Juarascio AS, Chowansky A. The effect of a pre-load experiment on subsequent food consumption: Caloric and macronutrient intake in the days following a pre-load manipulation. Appetite. 2012 Apr;58(2):747-53.
Books
Timko CA, Eifert G, Harres A. Akzeptanz- und Commitment therapie bei Anorexia nervosa: Ein Leitfaden für die Behandlung mit ACT/Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa: A Guide for Treatment using ACT, Beltz Verlag: Weinheim, 2013.
Eifert G, Timko CA. Mehr vom Leben: Wege aus der Anorexie für Betroffene und Angehörige – das ACT-Selbsthilfebuch/More from Life: An Escape from Anorexia for Sufferers and their Families – an ACT self-help book, Beltz Verlag: Weinheim, 2012.
Editorials, Reviews, Chapters
Timko, CA. Impact of dieting behavior on adolescents: Guidelines for adolescents and parents. In: Y. Latzer, O. Tzischinsky (Eds). The Dance of Sleeping and Eating Among Adolescents. Nova Science Publishers, New York, 2012, pp. 261-273.