Irina Vanzhula, M.S.
Doctoral Student Therapist
Irina Vanzhula, M.S., is a doctoral student therapist at the Louisville Center for Eating Disorders, supervised by Dr. Alex Pruitt. She received her Master’s degree in clinical psychology at the University of Louisville, where she is currently pursuing her doctoral degree under the mentorship of Dr. Cheri Levinson.
Irina specializes in treating adults and adolescents with anorexia nervosa, atypical anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, ARFID, and OSFED (other specified feeding and eating disorders). Irina helps individuals with body image issues, weight concerns, low self-esteem, anxiety (including meal anxiety), and shame related to eating of body image. Additionally, Irina has experience treating individuals with OCD, trauma, anxiety, depression, and personality disorders. She is trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, and mindfulness-based therapies. Irina leads DBT skills group for eating disorders and Eating Awareness Training group. Irina’s research examines comorbidities of eating disorders, OCD, and trauma, and she is interested in novel treatment development.
In her free time, Irina enjoys spending time outdoors and trying new restaurants.
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Professional Education
University of Louisville
Master of Science (M.S.), Clinical Psychology
University of Illinois at Springfield
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Psychology
Saint-Petersburg State University, Russia
Bachelors (B.A.) and Masters of Art (M.A.), Journalism
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Selected Publications and Talks
Vanzhula, I.A., Calebs, B., Fewell, L., Levinson, C.A. (2017, in press). Irritability and Concentration Difficulties are Illness Pathways between Eating Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms: Understanding Comorbidity with Network Analysis. European Eating Disorder Review.
Vanzhula, I.A., Margaret, S., Levinson, C.A. (Apr 2018). Improving Acting with Awareness May be the Key to Successful Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Eating Disorders. Paper presented at the International Conference on Eating Disorders, Chicago IL.
Levinson, C.A., Vanzhula, I.A., Brosof, L.C., Forbush, K. (2018, in press). Network Analysis as an Alternative Approach to Conceptualizing Eating Disorders: Implications for Research and Treatment. Current Psychiatry Reports.
Levinson, C. A., Brosof, L.C., Vanzhula, I.A., Christian, C., Jones, P., Rodebaugh, T.L., Langer, J.K., White, E.K., Warren, C., Weeks, J.W., Menatti, A., Lim, M.H., Fernandez, K.C. (2018, In Press). Social Anxiety and Eating Disorder Comorbidity and Underlying Vulnerabilities: Using Network Analysis to Conceptualize Comorbidity.
Sala, M., Vanzhula, I.A., Juarascio, A., Vazzano, K., & Levinson, C.A (Apr 2018). Incorporating Mindfulness into Eating Disorder Research and Treatment. Workshop presented at the International Conference on Eating Disorders, Chicago IL.
