The UNC Eating Disorders Program is excited to welcome Dr. Brad Mac Neil to our program this fall! Coming to us all the way from Cape Britain Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, this hockey (and Duke…we’ll see about that) fan is excited to be here and impressed by the kindness he has been shown already.

Brad first became interested in eating disorders while working with an undergraduate honors thesis mentor who specialized in the area. However, it was not until after graduate school that he started working in the field. In the interval, Brad studied adolescents and relationship violence. Now, after returning to the challenging field of eating disorders, his clinical interests include group therapy and how perception of body image during the early recovery phase affects relapse.

Most of Brad’s previous work has been with groups and families, thus making the transition to couples a change of pace. He said going back to school to practicum with Dr. Don Baucom has been a treat. Once he is trained specifically in couple therapy, Brad will be a part of the Uniting Couples in the Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa (UCAN) team treating couples affected by anorexia. He is also interested in getting involved in teaching at the University.

When 5 o’clock rolls around, Brad and his wife enjoy being outside with their lab greyhound mix doing everything from hiking to kayaking. He has a vinyl collection, plays guitar, and hopes to take banjo lessons now that he is living in the South. Given the chance to talk to one dead person, Brad said he would sit down with Kurt Cobain. He is interested in the mystery that surrounds his death and said Cobain’s music is the soundtrack to his reveres back to adolescence.

We are excited to have you, Brad! And we hope in your time here you will change from a Blue Devil fan to a true Tarheel.

By: McKenzie Roddy