Ellen Frank, PhD
About the Author
Ellen Frank, PhD, is professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and director of the Depression and Manic Depression Prevention Program at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. She graduated from Vassar College in 1966 and received a master’s degree in English from Carnegie Mellon University in 1967. Her doctoral work in psychology was done at the University of Pittsburgh and completed in 1979. Under a MERIT Award grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, Dr. Frank is currently studying the efficacy of Interpersonal and Social Rhythm Therapy, a psychotherapy she and her colleagues developed for the adjunctive treatment of manic-depressive illness. She recently completed an NIMH-sponsored study of women with recurrent depression in which she examined how psychobiology, life stress, and different “doses” of psychotherapy interact to increase or decrease vulnerability to new episodes of depression. In addition, Dr. Frank is currently involved in a joint project with researchers at the University of Pisa, Italy, aimed at achieving a better understanding of the clinical importance of subsyndromal mood, anxiety and eating disorders.
