Rhonda M. Merwin PhD

​Rhonda Merwin, PhD is an Assistant Professor at Duke University Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and the Founder and Director of the ACT at Duke Program. Dr. Merwin completed her PhD at the University of Mississippi under the mentorship of Dr. Kelly Wilson and a clinical internship and NIH-sponsored postdoctoral fellowship in Behavioral Medicine at Duke before joining the Duke faculty in 2008. Her research program focuses on the mechanisms and treatment of eating disorders (generally and among individuals with type 1 diabetes) and is funded by NIMH and NIDDK.
Her current grant develops an ACT-based intervention for individuals with type 1 diabetes who omit insulin for weight loss and uses mobile technology to deliver intervention in the moment. Her forthcoming book (to be published by Guilford Press) provides clinical guidance on using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy to treat anorexia nervosa. Dr. Merwin is a peer-reviewed ACT trainer. She regularly provides ACT workshops for professionals and is core teaching faculty at the Duke School of Medicine.