Dr. Patricia De Barbieri is a licensed professional counselor with 42 years of experience in education. She began her career as a high school vocational education teacher, a kindergarten and pre-school teacher, and an elementary school counselor in a public school setting. Dr. De Barbieri has experience in urban, sub-urban and rural environments; working in public and private education, not for profit social service agencies, private practice and institutions of higher education. Her early work centered on child development and family life and children at risk for abuse and neglect.
She began her work in higher education at Gateway Community Technical College as an instructor in the Human Services program and later as an adjunct instructor at Albertus Magnus College and Sacred Heart University . During her eleven years of experience serving as both a university student counselor in a mental health counseling center and director of a university mental health counseling center, her professional interest in eating disorders began. Dr. De Barbieri is a past member of the NCAA Speakers Bureau and has visited colleges and universities throughout the United States to consult with student athletes, coaches and athletic department administrators regarding issues related to the development of programming and support for athletes with eating disorders.
Dr. De Barbieri is Professor and Off-site Placement Coordinator of the Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) Program and former Chair of the Department of Counseling and School Psychology (CSP) at Southern Connecticut State University. She served as Coordinator of the graduate program in School Counseling for 10 years prior to becoming CSP Department Chair. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at Oneonta in Child Development and Family Relations and a Master of Science degree in Counselor Education from Southern Connecticut State University. Her Doctorate in Education is from Teachers College, Columbia University is in the field of Adult Learning. Her dissertation research focused on “The Role of Learning in Recovery from Bulimia”.
Dr. De Barbieri is past Vice President and National Board member of the American Anorexia and Bulimia Association [AABA] as well as first chair of AABA’s College Task Force. She also served as a member of Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention, a national organization for the prevention of eating disorders. The American Anorexia and Bulimia Association and Eating Disorders Awareness and Prevention merged in 2001, to form the National Eating Disorders Association [NEDA]: the leading eating disorders organization advocacy group for the treatment and prevention of eating disorders in the United States .Dr. De Barbieri is a charter member of the Connecticut College Eating Disorders Task Force and is currently a member of the American Counseling Association, the Connecticut Counseling Association, the Connecticut School Counseling Association, the Association for Counselor Education and Supervision, the American Association of University Women and the American Association of University Professors. She remains a well-known presenter in the field of eating disorders. Her publications, both in print and media, focus on the treatment and prevention of eating disorders. Her current research is in building resiliency in school age girls most notably through the North Star Program. Dr. De Barbieri is married to Attorney Roy L. De Barbieri. She is the mother of two grown children and grandma to a beautiful grandson