Emma Forsén Mantilla

I like to teach about eating disorders and other mental illnesses both in general and in sports contexts; what it is, how we can work preventively and how we can meet and treat individuals who are affected. I am also happy to teach methods such as cognitive behavioral therapy, client-centered psychotherapy, motivational interviewing and interpersonal psychotherapy that are helpful when working with people who for various reasons need to make changes in their lives.

I am also interested in psychological processes and mechanisms such as emotion regulation, self-image, impulsivity, obsessive-compulsiveness and attachment and therefore I am happy to teach about this.

I am a licensed psychologist and my research has often focused on the connection between psychological mechanisms such as self-image, attachment and interpersonal relationships and eating disorders. I have also worked with different types of preventive interventions for individuals with an increased risk of suffering from eating disorders and other mental illness, as well as for coaches and leaders in exercise and club sports. I have a special interest in compulsive exercise for eating disorders and eating disorders in sports.

I am the project manager for a clinical treatment study where we are evaluating a CBT program (the compuLsive Exercise Activity theraPy – LEAP) with the aim of treating compulsive exercise. I have also worked with The Eating Disorders Genetic Initiative – EDGI, a study that aims to better understand how genes and environmental factors affect the risk of developing eating disorders.

I collaborate with several international research groups (at Warwick University, University of North Carolina, University of Wisconsin and others) and Swedish research groups (at Karolinska Institutet, Örebro University, Mid Sweden University and others).

In the treatment study that I am responsible for, we collaborate with five eating disorder units in different places in Sweden. I have also had collaborations with the Swedish Sports Confederation, the Swedish Ski Association, SATS Sportsclub and other actors in training and sports contexts.