Dr Elizabeth RIEGER

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About Me
Research and Supervision Interests
Current Teaching
Research Students
Qualifications
Selected Publications

I have now been a practicing Clinical Psychologist for 15 years, having undertaken my clinical training at the University of Sydney. My main clinical experience has included treating adults with eating disorders, medical patients with accompanying psychological problems, and obese children and adults in public and private hospitals, university clinics, and private practice. I have also been involved in teaching clinical skills to diverse populations including clinical psychologists and intern clinical psychologists, general practitioners, nurses, and medical students. In 2001, I completed my PhD, the focus of which was on developing an instrument to assess motivation to change in anorexia nervosa (the Anorexia Nervosa Stages of Change Questionnaire) that is currently being utilised by researchers and clinicians in Australia, North America, and Europe. From 2001-2, I completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Centre for Eating and Weight Disorders (University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University) where I was trained in interpersonal psychotherapy and undertook a randomised controlled trial for obese children and adults. I commenced my academic role as a Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Sydney in 2003 and Senior Lecturer in 2008 before commencing as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the Australian National University in 2009. I continue to specialise in eating disorders and obesity in my research and clinical work. I am a member of the Eating Disorders Research Society and the College of Clinical Psychologists of the Australian Psychological Society.

My areas of research are in eating disorders and obesity, focusing on psychosocial factors implicated in the aetiology, maintenance and treatment outcome of these conditions. These psychosocial variables include motivation to change, maladaptive schema, attentional biases to shape- and weight-related information, and interpersonal problems (e.g., social rejection).

Undergraduate: Health Psychology (PSYC3020) for third year undergraduate students which I co-teach with Dr Jay Brinker and Professor Don Byrne

Postgraduate: Interpersonal Approaches to Psychotherapy for second year clinical psychology students; Advanced Clinical Workshops with third year clinical psychology students

Natalie Costin (DCP/MSc; Sydney University): The relationship between emotional awareness and anorexia nervosa illness severity over 12 weeks of treatment.

Natalie Crino (PhD; Sydney University): Meta-cognitions in anorexia nervosa.

Ertimiss Eshkevari (Clinical PhD; ANU): Neuropsychological factors in patients with anorexia nervosa.

Stuart Murray (DCP/MSc; Sydney University): An investigation of the symptoms and possible causal factors of muscle dysmorphia and anorexia nervosa in males.

Annaleise Robertson (DCP/MSc; Sydney University): An investigation of the treatment needs of overweight and obese young adults.

Samira Sidhwani (DCP/MSc; Sydney University): A cross-cultural comparison of eating disorder symptomatology in young women in Australia and India.

Evelyn Smith (PhD; Sydney University): Attentional biases and eating disorder symptomatology.

B.A.(Hons), University of Sydney, conferred 1993

M.Clin.Psych., University of Sydney, conferred 1995

Ph.D., University of Sydney, conferred 2001

Peer-Review Journal Articles

2009

Rieger, E., Dean, H. Y., Steinbeck, K. S., Caterson, I. D., & Manson, E. (in press). The use of motivational enhancement strategies for the maintenance of weight loss among obese individuals: A preliminary investigation. Diabetes Obesity & Metabolism. Accepted November 2008.

Smith, E., & Rieger, E. (in press). The effect of attentional training on body dissatisfaction and dietary restriction. European Eating Disorders Review. Accepted August 2008.

Smith, E., & Rieger, E. (in press). An investigation of the effect of body dissatisfaction on selective attention towards negative shape and weight related information. International Journal of Eating Disorders. Accepted March 2009.

Soh, N., Touyz, S., Dobbins, T. A., Surgenor, L. J., Clarke, S., Kohn, M. R., Lee, E. L., Leow, V., Rieger, E., Ung, K. E. K., & Walter, G. (in press). Nutrition knowledge in young women with eating disorders in Australia and Singapore: A pilot study. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. Accepted June 2009.

2008

Dean, H. Y., Touyz, S. W., Rieger, E., & Thornton, C. E. (2008). Group motivational enhancement therapy as an adjunct to inpatient treatment for eating disorders: A preliminary study. European Eating Disorders Review, 16 (4), 256-267.

Hechler, T., Rieger, E., Touyz, S., Beumont, P., Plasqui, G., & Westerterp, K. (2008). Physical activity and body composition across the seasons: A preliminary analysis in outpatients with a current or past diagnosis of anorexia nervosa and healthy controls. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly, 25, 159-173.

Soh, N., Touyz, S., Dobbins, T. A., Surgenor, L. J., Clarke, S., Kohn, M. R., Lee, E. L., Leow, V., Rieger, E., Ung, K. E. K., & Walter, G. (2008). Body image disturbance in young north European and east Asian women with and without eating disorders in Australia and in Singapore. European Eating Disorders Review, 16 (4), 287-296.

Soh, N., Touyz, S., Dobbins, T. A., Surgenor, L. J., Clarke, S., Kohn, M. R., Lee, E. L., Leow, V., Rieger, E., Ung, K. E. K., & Walter, G. (2008). Cross cultural differences in the macronutrient intakes of women with anorexia nervosa in Australia and Singapore. European Eating Disorders Review, 16 (6), 427-435. 

2007

Connolly, A., Rieger, E., & Caterson, I. (2007). Binge eating tendencies and anger coping: Investigating the confound of trait neuroticism in a non-clinical sample. European Eating Disorders Review, 15 (6), 479-486.

Martinez, E., Castro, J., Bigorra, A., Morer, A., Toro, J., & Rieger, E. (2007). Assessing motivation to change in bulimia nervosa: The Bulimia Nervosa Stages of Change Questionnaire. European Eating Disorders Review, 15 (1), 13-23.

Soh, N., Touyz, S., Dobbins, T. A., Surgenor, L. J., Clarke, S., Kohn, M. R., Lee, E. L., Leow, V., Rieger, E., Ung, K. E. K., & Walter, G. (2007). Restraint and eating concern in North European and East Asian women with and without eating disorders in Australia and Singapore. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 41 (6), 536-545.

2006

Anderson, K., Rieger, E., & Caterson, I. (2006). A comparison of maladaptive schemata in treatment-seeking obese adults and normal weight controls. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 60 (3), 245-252.

Rieger, E., & Touyz, S. (2006). An investigation of the factorial structure of motivation to recover in anorexia nervosa using the Anorexia Nervosa Stages of Change Questionnaire. European Eating Disorders Review, 14 (4), 269-275.

Smith, E., & Rieger, E. (2006). The effect of attentional bias towards shape and weight related information on body dissatisfaction. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 39 (6), 509-515.

2005

Rieger, E., Wilfley, D. E., Marino, V., Stein, R., & Crow, S. (2005). A comparison of quality of life in obese individuals with and without binge eating disorder. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 37 (3), 234-240.

2003

Touyz, S., Thornton, C., Rieger, E., George, L., & Beumont, P. (2003). The incorporation of the stage of change model in the day hospital treatment of patients with anorexia nervosa. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 12 (Suppl 1), 65-71.

2002

Rieger, E., Touyz, S. W., & Beumont, P. J. V. (2002). The Anorexia Nervosa Stages of Change Questionnaire (ANSOCQ): Information regarding its psychometric properties. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 32 (1), 24-38.

2001

Rieger, E., Touyz, S. W., Swain, T., & Beumont, P. J. V. (2001). Cross-cultural research on anorexia nervosa: Assumptions regarding the role of body weight. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 29 (2), 205-215.

2000

Rieger, E., Touyz, S., Schotte, D., Beumont, P., Russell, J., Clarke, S., Kohn, M., & Griffiths, R. (2000). Development of an instrument to assess readiness to recover in anorexia nervosa. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 28 (4), 387-396.

1998

Rieger, E., Schotte, D. E., Touyz, S. W., Beumont, P., Griffiths, R., & Russell, J. (1998). Attentional biases in eating disorders: A modified dot-probe procedure. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 23 (2), 199-205.

Rieger, E., Touyz, S. W., & Wain, G. V. (1998). The role of the clinical psychologist in gynaecological cancer. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 45 (3), 201-214.

1996

Rieger, E. (1996). The diet-heart disease hypothesis. Social Science and Medicine, 42 (9), 1227-1233.

Books

2008

Rieger, E. (Ed.) (2008). Abnormal psychology: Leading researcher perspectives. Sydney: McGraw-Hill Education.

1998

Aisbett, B., & Rieger, E. (1998). Get Real: Beyond the body beautiful. Sydney: Harper Collins.

Book Chapters

2009

Rieger, E. (2009). Interpersonal psychotherapy for eating disorders. In S. J. Paxton & P. J. Hay (Eds.), Interventions for body image and eating disorders: Evidence and practice. Melbourne: IP Communications.

2008

Touyz, S. W., Hay, P., & Rieger, E. (2008). Eating disorders. In E. Rieger (Ed.), Abnormal psychology: Leading researcher perspectives (pp. -251209. Sydney: McGraw-Hill Education.

2007

Dean, H. Y., Touyz, S. W., Rieger, E., & Thornton, C. E. (2007). Can motivational enhancement therapy improve a cognitive behaviourally based inpatient program for eating disorders? In D. Einstein (Ed.), Innovations and advances in cognitive-behaviour therapy (pp. 171-183). Sydney: Australian Academic Press.

2003

Wilfley, D. E., & Rieger, E. (2003). Further perspectives on psychological interventions for eating disorders. In M. Maj, K. Halmi, J. J. Lopez-Ibor, & N. Sartorius (Eds.), Eating disorders: Evidence and experience in psychiatry (Vol. 6) (pp. 353-357). Chichester: Wiley.