Renowned Experts, Drs. Craig Johnson and Ovidio Bermudez, Join Eating Recovery Center Clinical Team

Eating Recovery Center ( www.EatingRecoveryCenter.com) today announced that two of the nation’s foremost eating disorders experts have joined its executive team. Craig Johnson, PhD, FAED, CEDS, has been named chief clinical officer of Eating Recovery Center and Ovidio Bermudez, MD, FAAP, FSAM, FAED, CEDS, will become the medical director of Eating Recovery Center’s new child and adolescent treatment program. The appointments of these renowned doctors, known for their scholarship, dedication and clinical expertise, further elevate Denver, Colo., as the nation’s hub for eating disorders treatment.


Eating Recovery Center, a national center for eating disorders recovery providing comprehensive treatment for anorexia and bulimia, currently operates a licensed behavioral hospital for adults with serious eating disorders and an outpatient office, both located in Denver, Colo.

“Eating disorders impact 11 million Americans and remain the deadliest mental illnesses,” said Kenneth L. Weiner, MD, CEDS, founding partner and chief executive officer of Eating Recovery Center. “With the addition of Drs. Johnson and Bermudez, Eating Recovery Center has assembled an internationally renowned team to help patients tackle every level of care from critical inpatient care to outpatient treatment.”

As chief clinical officer, Dr. Johnson will direct Eating Recovery Center’s clinical program development and implementation. He will also drive the Center’s research efforts in conjunction with Emmett R. Bishop, Jr., MD, CEDS, founding partner and medical director of adult services of Eating Recovery Center. A leader in the field of eating disorders treatment since 1979, Dr. Johnson founded and was most recently the director of the Eating Disorders Program at Laureate Psychiatric Hospital in Tulsa, Okla. He is a professor of psychiatry at the University of Oklahoma Medical School and has formerly held faculty appointments at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University Medical Schools.


Dr. Johnson was the founding editor of the International Journal of Eating Disorders, as well as a founding member of both the Academy of Eating Disorders and the Eating Disorders Research Society. He is also past president of the National Eating Disorders Association. He has authored three books, more than 70 scientific articles, and has been the recipient of several distinguished contribution awards.

“Eating Recovery Center’s ability to quickly adapt treatment innovations has led to the organization becoming a leader in the field of eating disorders. I look forward to working with this distinguished group to further advance the field,” said Dr. Johnson.

Dr. Bermudez, nationally and internationally recognized as an expert in the treatment of adolescents with eating disorders, will apply his expertise to the development of Eating Recovery Center’s new child and adolescent treatment program. Most recently the medical director of Laureate’s Eating Disorders Program, Dr. Bermudez is co-founder of the Eating Disorders Coalition of Tennessee (EDCT), vice-president and co-founder of the Oklahoma Eating Disorders Association (OEDA), as well as past president of the National Eating Disorders Association. He also serves in several leadership positions within the Academy for Eating Disorders.


Dr. Bermudez holds an academic appointment as clinical professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine. He was previously faculty at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Additionally, he is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and member of the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals. Dr. Bermudez has lectured nationally and internationally on eating disorders, childhood obesity and other topics related to adolescent healthcare. He has been widely recognized for his dedication and advocacy on behalf of sufferers and families.

“I am thrilled to join the clinical team at Eating Recovery Center to develop an innovative program focused on the specialized needs of children and adolescents with eating disorders,” said Dr. Bermudez. “Our approach will be sensitive to the developmental needs of each patient and address the medical, behavioral and psycho-social aspects of their eating disorder while working closely with each family – all important components of successful treatment and lasting recovery.”


Denver, Colo., now offers individuals with eating disorders a full spectrum of care overseen by the nation’s leading eating disorders clinicians. Drs. Johnson and Bermudez join Eating Recovery Center founders, Drs. Weiner and Bishop, recognized experts with more than 50 years combined expertise, in providing inpatient, residential, partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient and outpatient services at Eating Recovery Center’s facilities. A partnership with Denver Health’s A.C.U.T.E. eating disorders program, directed by Philip Mehler, MD, CEDS, an expert in the medical complications of eating disorders, enables Eating Recovery Center to collaboratively provide care for severely medically compromised eating disorders patients.