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Rachel Lapidus, PhD

Psychologist
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Rachel Lapidus, PhD, is a psychologist at the ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders and Severe Malnutrition, where she provides compassionate, evidence-based care to children, adolescents, and adults with eating disorders. She is passionate about supporting patients during critical points in their recovery and helping them move toward meaningful, lasting improvements in mental health and well-being. With extensive clinical training, research experience, and specialized certification in Family-Based Treatment, Rachel combines expertise with a collaborative, patient-centered approach that strengthens both her patients and the interdisciplinary team.

Rachel Lapidus, PhD, has been a psychologist at the ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders and Severe Malnutrition since 2025. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Occidental College in California and both her Master’s and Doctorate degrees from the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. Rachel is certified in Family-Based Treatment through the Training Institute for Childhood and Adolescent Eating Disorders and is an active member of the Academy for Eating Disorders, the International Association for Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp™) and the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.

Prior to joining ACUTE, Rachel worked as a clinical psychologist at the Eating Disorders Center at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City from 2023–2025, providing outpatient assessment, individual and group therapy and supporting inpatient medical stabilization.

She has contributed to research on interoception, affective response and central autonomic network alterations in eating disorders, including Heightened Affective Response to Perturbation of Respiratory but not Pain Signals in Eating, Mood, and Anxiety Disorders and Central Autonomic Network Alterations in Anorexia Nervosa Following Peripheral Adrenergic Stimulation.

Rachel was recognized with the Rising Star Award from the University of California San Diego Eating Disorders Center for Research and Treatment in 2020. She also taught the Psychology of Eating Disorders class at UC San Diego in 2021 and 2022.

Rachel is motivated by working with a team committed to high-quality, compassionate care. She finds it deeply rewarding to support patients during challenging times and to help them take meaningful steps forward in recovery.

Outside of work, Rachel enjoys hiking, exploring nature, trying new restaurants, spending time with friends and family and snuggling with her pups.

Educational Resources

ACUTE Earns Prestigious Center of Excellence Designation from Anthem
In 2018, the ACUTE Center for Eating Disorders & Severe Malnutrition at Denver Health was honored by Anthem Health as a Center of Excellence for Medical Treatment of Severe and Extreme Eating Disorders. ACUTE is the first medical unit ever to achieve this designation in the field of eating disorders. It comes after a rigorous review process.

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