At Fairwinds Treatment Center, we believe that clinical expertise and a caring attitude are essential to successful eating disorders treatment. Our facility’s multi-disciplinary treatment team consists of some of the most highly qualified and compassionate health care specialists in the industry, including a psychiatrist, a primary care physician, a psychologist, licensed social workers and therapists, nursing professionals, an art therapist and a registered dietician. Together, we are dedicated to providing you and your family with the strong support network essential to recovery from eating disorders.
Clinical Excellence
Vicki Berkus M.D.,Ph.D, CEDS specializes in adolescent and adult psychiatry, eating disorders full spectrum and sports psychiatry. She has served as president of the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals (IAEDP), holds eating disorders certification (CEDS) through IAEDP and is a current board member and head of the IAEDP education committee. Dr. Berkus is active in promoting certification and education in the field of eating disorders. Her memberships include the Academy for Eating Disorders (AED), The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), The American Society of Bariatric Medicine (ASBP) and the International Society for Sports Psychiatry (ISSP). She has authored numerous articles as well as the highly acclaimed book "10 Commitments to Mental Fitness".
In 2010 Dr. Vicki Berkus relocated to Tampa, Florida from Tucson, Arizona as Medical Director of Fairwinds Treatment Center's Eating Disorder Program. In Arizona Dr. Berkus served as the Medical Director for a nationally recognized eating disorders program and was in private practice in Tucson for eight years and consulted at various eating disorders facilities.
Dr. Vicki Berkus utilizes a holistic treatment approach to address not only the physical, emotional and spiritual fitness of the individual but their mental fitness as well.
For the patient who asks in the midst of their pain, "why does it have to be this way?" Dr. Berkus can honestly answer, it doesn't. Most of us already know we should eat healthy, exercise, and stop smoking and drinking, says Dr. Berkus. "However, most people do not know how to improve their mental fitness, or they never take time to understand this fundamental part of who they are." Becoming more aware of your feelings, needs, desires, priorities and abilities is what Dr. Berkus considers "mental fitness" and it is this awareness that is crucial to making changes.
Dr. Berkus is Board Certified in Psychiatry and specializing in eating disorders and addictions for many years; sees patients from both an in-patient and out-patient perspective with all types of mental health issues. In a number of cases all the individual needed was the appropriate treatment intervention and guidance to change the beliefs that kept them acting in unhealthy ways.
With humor, plain talk, and practical wisdom, as well as many examples from her years of practice, Dr. Berkus provides the tools to help anyone establish a clear sense of well being. Fun and challenging exercises help the individual realize the issues that stand in the way of their positive mental health, wellness and happiness. As the treatment team director for Fairwinds eating disorders program, Dr. Berkus brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to the treatment table for wellness and recovery.
Treatment Team
