Trusted by food allergy families across the country.
Dr. Elizabeth, aka the Food Allergy Psychologist, combines her personal experience as a food allergy parent with her professional expertise as a psychologist to help manage the emotional impacts of food allergies and food allergy treatments.
Elizabeth Hawkins, PhD, MPH
ABOUT DR. ELIZABETH
I am a licensed psychologist, behavioral health researcher, and a food allergy mom and advocate. I hold a doctorate in child clinical psychology from the University of Washington. My approach is broadly rooted in cognitive-behavioral therapies and incorporates mindfulness, acceptance, attachment theory, mind-body health, and behavioral skills training.
My first experience with severe food allergies occurred in 2009, when my younger daughter had her first anaphylactic reaction at 6 months old. A few months and many reactions later, she was diagnosed with severe allergies to more than a dozen different foods including 7 of the 9 top allergens. After months of seeing doctor after doctor, there was finally an explanation for her severe and unrelenting eczema, the itchiness and misery that kept both of us awake at night, her poor weight gain, and her reluctance to try new foods. Over time, we learned she was allergic to more than twenty different foods and also struggled with environmental allergies, eczema, and asthma.
I experienced firsthand the overwhelming stress and anxiety that accompanies severe food allergies. As a child psychologist, I understood the importance of meeting my daughter’s emotional and developmental needs while also protecting her and keeping her safe. I used my clinical and research skills to learn all I could about allergies so I could flexibly adapt and respond to my daughter in a way that allowed her to live as normal and full of a life as possible. Some of her allergies self-resolved, some have been successfully treated and are now included in her daily diet, and she is currently undergoing treatment for others.
I have learned so much on this food allergy journey and have developed science-based methods and strategies that work. It has been a privilege to share those with clients in my private practice. However, I know that most people are not able to access therapy due to lack of allergy-informed providers, geography, long wait lists, and high costs. My mission with Food Allergy Hive is to address this gap and provide safe, reliable, trustworthy information about the emotional impacts of food allergies, at an affordable price point.
Published in 2022, Treating Food Allergies with Modern Medicine provides detailed information about the evidence-based treatments available for food allergies, along with practical tips and strategies for families navigating them. Dr. Elizabeth's co-authors include a mother of two children with multiple life-threatening food allergies and a pioneering allergist in the field of allergy treatment.
HIVE MEMBERSHIP
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