Dr. Molly Atwood

Current Position

Upon completion of her PhD, Dr. Atwood completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University (Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences.  She is currently a licensed psychologist at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore.

Degrees

PhD in Clinical Psychology, Ryerson University

MA in Clinical Psychology, Ryerson University

BA(Honours) in Psychology, Ryerson University

Research Interests

Molly’s research interests broadly include the exploration of psychological factors that maintain disordered eating behaviours, as well as the treatment of eating disorders and obesity. Her Master’s thesis investigated the clinical correlates and antecedents of subjective binge eating (i.e., experiencing a sense of loss of control while eating, although the amount of food consumed is not unusually large). Specifically, investigated the relationship between problematic cognitions and the subjective appraisal of loss of control over eating, as well as the cognitive and emotional factors that precipitate subjective binge eating, in order to identify targets for treatment.  Her dissertation examined a tool developed at the Toronto Western Hospital Bariatric Surgery Program called the Bariatric Interprofessional Psychosocial Assessment of Suitability Scale (BIPASS) and found that it predicted binge eating, quality of life, and weight regain following surgery.

Clinical Interests

Molly is interested in providing cognitive-behavioural treatment to individuals with mood and anxiety disorders, insomnia, and eating disorders. She completed practicum placements at St. Michael’s Hospital Department of Family and Community Medicine (Clinical Psychology Training Clinic), the Anxiety Treatment and Research Clinic at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, and the Eating Disorders Clinic at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton.  She completed her predoctoral internship in Halifax.

Research Support

Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology – Master’s Award

Ontario Graduate Scholarship – Master’s Award

Ontario Graduate Scholarship – Doctoral Award  

Selected Publications

  • Atwood, M., Cassin, S. E., Rajaratnam, T., Hawa, R., & Sockalingam, S. (in press). The Bariatric Interprofessional Psychosocial Assessment of Suitability Scale (BIPASS) predicts binge eating, quality of life, and weight regain following surgery.  Clinical Obesity.
  • Atwood, M. E., Friedman, A., Meisner, B. A., & Cassin, S. E. (2018). The exchange of social support on bariatric surgery online discussion forums: A mixed-methods content analysis.  Health Communication, 33(5), 628-635.
  • Sogg, S., Atwood, M. E., & Cassin, S. E. (2018).  The role of psychosocial interventions to support medical and surgical treatments for severe obesity.  In S. E. Cassin, S. Sockalingam, and R. Hawa (Eds.), Psychological care in severe obesity: A practical approach (pp. 18-41). Cambridge University Press.
  • Cassin, S. E., & Atwood, M. E. (2017). Cognitive behavioural therapy for severe obesity.  In S. Sockalingam & R. Hawa (Eds.), Psychiatric care in severe obesity: An interdisciplinary guide to integrated care (pp. 245-256).
  • Atwood, M. E., & Cassin, S. E. (2016). Surgery for obesity and impact on disordered eating.  In T. Wade (Ed.), Encyclopedia of feeding and eating disorders.  New York, NY: Springer.  DOI 10.1007/978-981-287-087-2_199-1
  • Atwood, M. E., David, L., & Cassin, S. E. (2016). Cognitive behavioural therapy for bariatric surgery patients. In R. Rajendram, C. Martin, & V. R. Preedy (Eds.), Pathophysiology of bariatric surgery: Metabolism, nutrition, procedures, outcomes and adverse effects. Academic Press.

Selected Conference Presentations

  • Atwood, M. E., Muravsky, A., Sockalingam, S., & Cassin, S. E. (2019, June). Factor structure of the Bariatric Interprofessional Psychosocial Assessment of Suitability Scale (BIPASS) [poster presentation]. Annual meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), Halifax, NS.
  • Atwood, M. E., Rajaratnam, T., Sockalingam, S., & Cassin, S. E. (2019, June). Predictive validity for the Bariatric Interprofessional Psychosocial Assessment of Suitability Scale (BIPASS) [poster presentation]. Annual meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), Halifax, NS.
  • Atwood, M. E., & Cassin, S. E. (2017, November).  Self-prescribed perfectionism and subjective binge eating: The mediating role of negative affect and dietary restraint [poster presentation].  Annual conference of the Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT), San Diego, CA.
  • Atwood, M. E, & Cassin, S. E. (2017, June).  Difficulties with emotion regulation as a predictor of subjective binge eating episodes [poster presentation].  International Conference on Eating Disorders (ICED), Prague, Czech Republic.
  • Atwood, M. E., David, L., Wnuk, S., Sockalingam, S., & Cassin, S. E. (2017, June).  Psychometric properties and validation of the Ontario Bariatric Eating Self-Efficacy (OBESE) Scale [poster presentation].  International Conference on Eating Disorders (ICED), Prague, Czech Republic.
  • Friedman, A., Atwood, M. E., Cassin, S. E., Wnuk, S., & Sockalingham, S. (June, 2016). Psychosocial care of bariatric surgery patients: Unique challenges and innovative treatment approaches. In F. Collardeau (Chair), Graduate student symposium: Psychologists in hospitals and health centres. Symposium presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, Victoria, BC.
  • Atwood, M. E., Friedman, A., & Cassin, S. E. (June, 2016). The exchange of social support on bariatric surgery discussion forums: A qualitative content analysis. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, Victoria, BC.
  • Atwood, M. E., Mehak, A., & Cassin, S. E. (November, 2015). Subjective and objective binge eating episodes in relation to general and eating disorder-specific cognitive distortions. Poster accepted for presentation at the annual meeting of the Association of Behavioural and Cognitive Therapies, Chicago, IL.
  • Atwood, M. E., & Cassin, S. E. (June, 2015). Clinical correlates of subjective binge eating episodes in female undergraduates. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, Ottawa, ON.