ABOUT ME

Best-known for clinical work and research in the field of eating disorders, I specialize in the treatment of eating problems like Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder and ARFID. I also do psychotherapy for mood, anxiety, interpersonal and other problems, and work with adults and older adolescents, couples and families. I’m fluent in English and French.

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My approach draws from various therapy traditions (cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, motivational, psychodynamic and others)—which allows therapy to be adapted to individual needs and situations. But always, my goal is to build a therapeutic relationship that is supportive and collaborative, and to work in a way that is evidence-informed and based on best-practice principles.

I also provide clinical supervision and teaching to individuals and groups, and have spoken at hundreds of invited talks and clinical workshops, regionally, nationally and internationally. A sample of some of these is shown here.

Some other things about me:

  • Professor Emeritus, Psychiatry Department, McGill University
  • Head of the Douglas Institute Eating Disorders Continuum (1990-2022)
  • Professor, Psychiatry Department, McGill University (2000-2024)
  • Associate Member, Psychology Department, McGill University (1992-2024)
  • Author of numerous articles and book chapters on eating disorders and related topics
  • Conference speaker and workshop leader
  • Clinical supervisor to over 150 clinical trainees 
  • Fellow of the Academy for Eating Disorders and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences
  • Licensed by the Order of Psychologists of Quebec

Contact

 

To reach me:

Tel: 514-737-1568

Email me here: howsteig@gmail.com

 

Note: I’m currently doing private consultations via tele-therapy (Zoom, Teams, etc.).

Selected workshops and presentations:

Le traitement des troubles de l’alimentation dans le monde réel : Les meilleures pratiques en action. Webinar présente par le Continuum des troubles de l’alimentation, institut universitaire Douglas. 4 novembre 2021.
Ni carottes, ni bâtons: Limiter la coercition et maximiser l’engagement lors du traitement des adolescents et adultes atteints de troubles de l’alimentation. Invited plenary lecture. Psychiatry Deparment, Hopitaux Universitaires de Geneve, Geneva, September 26, 2019.
Eating disorders, heredity and environmental activation: Things clinicians, patients and carers need to know. Plenary presentation at the annual congress of the Spanish Society of Psychiatry/ Spanish Society of Biological Psychiatry, Valencia, Oct 29, 2021.
Treating eating disorders and their comorbidities. Australia/ New Zealand Academy for Eating Disorders (ANZAED) hosted webinar. Dec 3, 2020.
“Meals, Molecules, and the Media: Eating Disorders and the Environmental Regulation of the Genome”. Medical Talks CNS. Sponsored by Pfizer-Upjohn Brazil, July 21, 2020.
“Tu n’as pas demandé d’avoir ce trouble!” Les troubles de l’alimentation, l’heredité, et l’activation environnementale. Invited public lecture. Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa Associatoin (ANAB) Quebec. Feb 4, 2020.
Eating disorders and the environmental regulation of the genome. Invited Plenary Lecture. Conference of the French Federation Anorexia Bulimia Research Group. Paris, September 12, 2019
Evidence-informed approaches to treating people with Eating Disorders: Limiting coercion and maximizing engagement. Workshop presented at the Argyle Institute of Human Relations, Montreal: Sept 29, 2018.
Traitement intégré des troubles de l’alimentation et de leurs comorbidités. Two-day training offered through Porte-voix Productions, Quebec, Qc : May 17 & 18, 2018.
Steiger, H. From coercion to mobilization: Autonomous motivation and autonomy support in eating disorder treatment. Invited workshop presented at the London International Conference on Eating Disorders, London: UK, March 29, 2018.
Steiger, H. DNA, TLC or MTV? Eating Disorders, Gene-Environment Interactions and the Epigenome. Invited plenary talk presented at the London International Conference on Eating Disorders, London: UK, March 29, 2018.
Steiger, H. Maximizing engagement (and minimizing coercion) in eating-disorder treatment: Autonomy support and autonomous motivation for change. Invited plenary presentation. Annual Eating Disorders Conference, St Joseph’s Mercy Health System. Ann Arbor, Mich. Oct 13, 2017.
Traitement des troubles de l’alimentation informé par les données probantes : Prioriser l’engagement dans la thérapie. 6-hour workshop presented at the Congres annuel de l’Ordre des Psychologues du Quebec. Montreal : 19 novembre 2016.
Maximizing engagement and motivation for change in eating disorder treatment. 5th Biennial National Conference of the Eating Disorders Association of Canada, Winnipeg, Sept 29 and 30, 2016.
Meals, Molecules, and the Media: Gene Environment Interactions and Epigenetics in Eating Disorders. 3rd annual Johns Hopkins Eating Disorders CME Conference, Baltimore, Md, May 20th, 2016.

Selected recent articles and chapters:

Steiger, H., Booij, L., St-Hilaire, A., & Thaler, L. (in press). Eating Disorders. In P. Blaney & R. Krueger. Millon. Oxford Textbook of Psychopathology, 4th edition. New York: Oxford University Press.
Steiger, H., Booij, L., Thaler, L., St-Hilaire, A., Israël, M., Casey, K.F., Oliverio, S., Crescenzi, O., Lee, V., Turecki, G., Joober, R., Szyf, M., & Breton, E. (in press). DNA methylation in people with Anorexia Nervosa: Epigenome-wide patterns in actively ill, long-term remitted, and healthy-eater women. World Journal of Biological Psychiatry.
Steiger, H., Booij, L., Crescenzi, O., Oliverio, S., Singer, I., Thaler, L., St-Hilaire, A., & Israel, M. (2021). In-person versus virtual therapy in outpatient eating-disorder treatment: A COVID-19 inspired study. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 55:145-150. PMID: 34904742. DOI: 10.1002/eat.23655. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34904742/
Paquin Hodge, C., St-Hilaire, A., Thaler, L. & Steiger, H. (2020). Anorexie Mentale. Dans A. Aimé, C. Maïano, & M.-M. Ricard (Eds.), Les troubles des conduites alimentaires : Du diagnostic aux traitements. Montréal : Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal. ISBN 978-2-7606-4174-7
Sansfaçon, J., Booij, K., Gauvin, L., Fletcher, E., Islam, F., Israël, M., & Steiger, H. (2020). Pretreatment motivation and therapy outcomes in eating disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 53:1879–1900. https://doi.org/10.1002/eat.23376
Booij, L. & Steiger, H. (2020). Applying epigenetic science to the understanding of eating disorders: A promising paradigm for research and practice. Review. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2020 Nov;33(6):515-520. doi: 10.1097/YCO.0000000000000632. PMID: 32576735
Wonderlich, S.A, Bulik, C.M., Schmidt, U., Steiger, H., & Hoek, H.W. (2020). Severe and enduring Anorexia Nervosa: Update and observations about the current clinical reality. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 53, 1303–1312. https://doi.org/ 10.1002/eat.23283
Steiger, H. & Booij, L. (2020). Eating disorders, heredity and environmental activation: Getting epigenetic concepts into practice: Journal of Clinical Medicine. Review. J Clin Med. 3;9(5):E1332. doi: 10.3390/jcm9051332.J Clin Med. 2020. PMID: 32375223
Paquin Hodge, C., Gauvin, L., St-Hilaire, A., Israel, M., Azzi, M., Kahan, E., Thaler, L., Dansereau, E., & Steiger, H. (2019). A naturalistic comparison of two inpatient treatment protocols for adults with Anorexia Nervosa: Does reducing duration of treatment and external controls compromise outcome? International Journal of Eating Disorders. 2019 Sep;52(9):1015-1023. doi: 10.1002/eat.23150. Epub 2019 Aug 13. PMID: 31408212
Steiger, H., Booij, L., Kahan, E., McGregor, K., Thaler, L., Fletcher, E., Labbe, A., Joober, R., Israël, M., Szyf, M., Agellon, L.B., Gauvin, L., St-Hilaire, A., & Rossi, E. (2019). A longitudinal, epigenomewide study of DNA methylation in Anorexia Nervosa: Results in actively ill, partially weight restored, long-term remitted, and non-eating-disordered women. Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience. 2019 Jan 29;44(2):1-9. PMID: 30693739.
Thaler, L., Freiwald, S., Paquin-Hodge C., Fletcher, E., Cottier, D., Kahan, E., Rossi, E., Piat, M., Lal, S., Israel, M. & Steiger, H. (2018). A tertiary-care/primary-care partnership aimed at improving care for people with eating disorders. Community Ment Health J. 2018 Nov;54(8):1154-1161. doi: 10.1007/s10597-018-0290-4. PMID: 29948625
Sansfaçon, J.*, Gauvin, L., Fletcher, E., Cottier, D., Rossi, E., Kahan, E., Israël, M. & Steiger, H. (2018). Prognostic value of autonomous and controlled motivation in outpatient eating-disorder treatment. International Journal of Eating Disorders. 51(10):1194-1200. doi: 10.1002/eat.22901. PMID: 30171769
Steiger, H., Sansfaçon, J.*, Thaler, L., Leonard, N., Cottier, D., Kahan, E., Fletcher, E., Rossi, E., Israel, M., & Gauvin, L. (2017). Autonomy support and autonomous motivation in the outpatient treatment of eating-disordered adults. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 50, 1058-1066. doi: 10.1002/eat.22734.
Steiger, H. (2017): Evidence-informed practices in the real-world treatment of people with eating disorders. Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment and Prevention, 4, 1-9. doi: 10.1080/10640266.2016. 1269558.
Thaler, L. & Steiger, H. (2017). Eating Disorders and Epigenetics. In R. Delgado-Morales (Ed.). Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology: Neuroepigenomics in Aging and Disease. Springer: Zurich. 978:93-103. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-53889-1_5. PMID: 28523542