Brenda L. Wolfe, Ph.D
Psychologist, Eating Disorder Therapist
Education:
- BA Psychology – McGill University
- MA & Ph. D – University of California, Santa Barbara
I am a Clinical Psychologist specializing in evidence-based treatment for eating disorders and obesity, as well as offering psychotherapy for anxiety and mood disorders. While I primarily work with adults, I do accept adolescent patients who are struggling with eating disorders.
My goal for all individuals with whom I work is to empower them to both break away from the emotional struggles that have kept them stuck and suffering and to take the reins to steer their lives in directions that are personally meaningful and fulfilling. Upon completion of my studies, I worked in corporate Research & Development departments (psychology-related) until moving with my family to New Mexico. Here, I free-lanced as a consultant to companies developing wellness programs and spent a fair bit of time traveling around the country training medical professionals in wellness counseling. In the mid-1990s, I enrolled at the University of New Mexico where I completed additional post-doctoral training that enabled me to sit for state licensure.
In addition to clinical work, I currently serve as volunteer faculty at the University of New Mexico Department of Psychiatry, and as newsletter editor for the New Mexico Psychological Association. Over the years, I have served on numerous professional committees at a variety of organizations including the Academy of Eating Disorders, New Mexico Department of Health, Executive Council of the NM State Plan for Healthier Weight, and Association of Behavior and Cognitive Therapies. I also served as President and as Public Education Coordinator for the New Mexico Psychological Association, and volunteer faculty for the UNM Department of Psychology.
Having owned and operated the Eating Disorders Institute of New Mexico for decades, I retired in May of 2018, thinking I was ready to slow down. I was not. I lasted one week short of two years and was delighted to join Sage Neuroscience Center in May of 2020. Helping patients rethink difficult situations and gently reshape self-talk and behavior to create the life they want—that is what makes this job so hard to quit!
A fun fact about me? I suppose the thing that comes most immediately to mind is that I am an abject failure at retirement! That said, I am not all-work-no-play. In addition to being crazy in love with my grandchildren and spending considerable playtime with them, I am also an avid reader and ballroom dancer.