Karin’s Experience and Education
Specializing in Eating Issues Since 1983
Dr. Karin Kratina, RD, LDN, SEP is a nutrition therapist, speaker and writer who has specialized in helping those with eating problems for over 30 years. She has written numerous professional books, book chapters and articles. She has been invited to present numerous time at all the major eating disorder conferences. Her education and experience is extensive.
Work Experience
Her experience is extensive. In 1990, she implemented and directed nutrition and exercise services at The Renfrew Center in Ft. Lauderdale, a health care facility devoted to the treatment of women with eating disorders. She worked with Renfrew for 12 years during which time she received extensive training in the field.
Prior to that, Karin worked at two other facilities treating those with eating disorders, emotional eating and exercise issues. Since then, she has been consulted on the development of numerous eating disorder facilities, including at the University of Florida.
She was the Eating Disorders Nutrition Specialist at the University of Florida Student Health Care Center where she worked with the Eating Disorders Team and trained dietitians to work with students with eating disorders. She also served as a Sports Nutritionist for the Lady Gators.
She has been a Media Spokesperson for numerous organizations and has been interviewed on TV as well as radio. She once gave a press release at the National Press Club.
She has been an on-going consultant for numerous eating disorder facilities including at the University of Florida, and the UF Counseling and Wellness Center, Seaside Palm Beach, A Safe Harbor and others.
She first began a nutrition therapy private practice in 1992, and opened her Gainesville practice in 2004.
Professional Activities
She has been a leader in the field since 1992. She created the only interest group within the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics devoted to eating disorders and disordered eating in 1994 within the Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutritionists (SCAN) Practice Group. For three years she served as Chair of that organization, was the eating disorder editor of their newsletter for 10 years. She also organized and directed their 1995 Symposium focused on the treatment of eating disorders and the nondiet approach.
Author
She has authored numerous professional chapters on the treatment of eating disorders, including:
The Handbook of Medical Nutrition Therapy: The Florida Diet Manual for the Florida Dietetic Association
"Nutrition for Eating Disorders." -- for the years 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015.
“New Interventions for Eating and Weight Problems.”
Eating Disorders: A Clinical Guide to Counseling and Treatment, for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
“Sexual Abuse, Multiple Personality Disorder, and Eating Disorders: The Dietitian’s Role in Treatment”
She regularly wrote articles for the National Eating Disorders Association Newsletter, the newsletter for Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutritionists (the PULSE), the Journal of Health at Every Size, and has written for GURZE.
Expert Reviewer
She has been an invited expert reviewer for the following:
“Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa: Medical Nutrition Therapy Protocol” in Medical Nutrition Therapy Across the Continuum of Care (MNTACC), 2001
“Position of the American Dietetic Association: Nutrition Intervention in the Treatment of Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa and Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (EDNOS),” 2001
Advisory Boards
She has been appointed to advisory boards of numerous organizations including the Clinical and Scientific Advisory Board of the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), and the Editorial Board, Journal of Health At Every Size. Karin is also a Clinical Advisor for Green Mountain at Fox Run (a retreat center for women specializing in eating and weight issues).
Professional Speaker
As an international speaker, Karin's primary focus is providing training workshops for professionals on the topics of eating, weight and body image issues, and eating disorders. She also regularly presents for the public. The list of presentations by Karin is extensive.
Author
Both of the books that Karin co-authored were released in their second editions. She has authored book chapters and articles, and has been quoted in the popular press in magazines such as Shape, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Runner’s World, Lifetime, and others. Find out more (on-line articles, books, book chapters, published articles).
Her work is frequently quoted by others, for instance, in the following books:
Treatment of Eating Disorders: Bridging the Research-Practice Gap,
Beyond a Shadow of a Diet: The Therapist's Guide to Treating Compulsive Eating,
Textbook of Obesity: Biological, Psychological and Cultural Influences,
The Encyclopedia of Obesity and Eating Disorders, Third Edition,
The Obesity Myth: Why America's Obsession with Weight is Hazardous to Your Health,
and more.
Formal Education
BS in nutrition, St. Mary’s Dominican College, New Orleans
MA in exercise physiology, University of Florida
Graduate Certificate in Gender Studies, University of Florida
PhD in symbolic/cognitive anthropology, University of Florida
PhD Research
Her PhD research analyzed the unconscious thinking of women without eating disorders. She was able to "decode" eating and weight struggles to reveal what was going on at the unconscious level. This exciting research has strongly influenced her approach to helping clients.
Additional Certifications
Additionally she has extensive training in somatic therapy since 2005, and has completed a 3-year training to become a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner. She was then instrumental in bringing the 3-year Somatic Experiencing Training to Gainesville, and coordinated the training, and was an assistant teacher.
She studied the Myers-Briggs Personality Type system for 15 years, and then was introduced to the Enneagram of Personality in 2003. Since then, she has attended over 700 hours of trainings on the Enneagram, including 3 year-long programs. She is a Certified Enneagram Facilitator with the Enneagram School of Awakening, in the Embodiment Tradition.
She is also trained in NeuroEmotional Technique (NET), a mind-body stress reduction tool, and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), another unique mind-body healing tool.