HEALING FOOD ADDICTION: What Works

For decades until his death in 2023, Phil Werdell was a prominent practitioner and writer in the field of Food Addiction. He was a graduate of Yale University and did postgraduate work in eating disorders at the University of South Florida, as well as in adult education at Columbia University. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for study in India and a Corning Fellowship for study of international business. After a 20-year career in innovative higher education, he became a lead therapist at a hospital-based residential treatment program for Food Addiction. In 1993, he founded ACORN Food Dependency Recovery Services (now SHiFT—Recovery by ACORN) and worked professionally with more than 5,000 late-stage Food Addicts. He also directed a three-year training program for Food Addiction professionals, founded the Food Addiction Institute, and wrote a half dozen books on Food Addiction. Mr. Werdell's previous career was as a teacher and administrator at Yale University, City University of New York, College for Human Services (NYC), Campus Free College, College of New Rochelle, and Springfield College (Tampa, FL).