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Background

About

Naomi is passionate about helping people deepen their attention and care for their inner lives. She came to the world of psychotherapy, behavioral health and coaching following her journey as a researcher and practitioner in the areas of health psychology and contemplative practice. She completed her PhD research on the topic of meaning and food because she wanted to explore the ways people's relationship to food reflected their relationship to the environment and their overall meaning system. Additionally, as a yoga and mindfulness teacher, she wanted to investigate how relating to one's body and one's world through the lens of mindfulness and compassion (including self compassion) could transform people's relationship to their food choices and health behaviors more generally. 

 

Upon finishing her graduate studies Naomi worked for several years as a coach, consultant and behavioral scientist. In her work with individuals and organizations she found that many of the challenges underlying people's relationship to food and health behavior applied far beyond the food realm, which led her to focus on meaning and mindfulness-based approaches to behavior change. She went back to school to earn a degree and license in social work, which enables her to support people through the full range of challenges they may be experiencing. 

 

Naomi is a lifelong learner. She enjoys diving into the challenging and messy parts of life and trying to make meaning from it. While she loves conducting scientific research and learning new theories to explain and change human behavior, what she finds most fulfilling is learning from people, listening to their stories, and co-exploring with them how to navigate through challenges so as to find greater meaning, purpose, health and wellbeing.

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Training

Naomi’s background includes training as a coach, psychotherapist, psychoeducator and

behavioral scientist. 

 

She has training in Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Positive Psychology, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and CBT for weight management, amongst

other approaches. 

 

Naomi is trained to teach yoga and mindfulness-based courses including: 

  • Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) 

  • Mindful self compassion (MSC)

  • Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT)

  • Mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP)

Academic
Background

  • BA in Economics and Environment from McGill University

  • MA in Bioethics from New York University

  • MS in Nutrition and Applied Exercise Physiology from Teachers College, Columbia University

  • Masters in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania

  • PhD in Behavioral Nutrition from Teachers College, Columbia University

  • Masters in Social Work from the Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College

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Research & Peer-reviewed Publications

  • Arbit, N., Ruby, M., & Rozin, P. (2017). Development and validation of the meaning of food in life questionnaire (MFLQ): Evidence for a new construct to explain eating behavior. Food Quality and Preference, 59, 35-45. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2017.02.002

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  • Arbit, N., Ruby, M. B., Sproesser, G., Renner, B., Schupp, H., & Rozin, P. (2017). Spheres of moral concern, moral engagement, and food choice in the USA and Germany. Food Quality and Preference, 62, 38- 45. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2017.06.018

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  • Sproesser, G., Klusmann, V., Ruby, M. B., Arbit, N., Rozin, P., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2017). The positive eating scale: relationship with objective health parameters and validity in Germany, the USA and India. Health Psychology, 1-27. doi:10.1080/08870446.2017.1336239

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  • Sproesser, G., Ruby, M. B., Arbit, N., Rozin, P., Schupp, H., & Renner, B. (2018). The Eating Motivation Survey: Results from the USA, India and Germany. Public Health Nutrition, 21(3), 515-525. doi:10.1017/S1368980017002798

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  • Sproesser, G., Imada, S., Furumitsu, I., Rozin, P., Ruby, M., Arbit, N., Fischler, C., Schupp, H., & Renner, B. (2018). What constitutes traditional and modern eating in Japan? Perceptions across age and gender. Nutrients, 10(2): 118. doi: 10.3390/nu10020118

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  • Sproesser, G., Ruby, M., Arbit, N., Akotia C., Alvarenga MD., Bhangaokar R., Furumitsu I., Hu X., Imada S,, Kaptan G., Kaufer-Horwitz M., Menon U., Rozin, P., Fischler, C., Schupp, H., & Renner, B. (2019). Understanding traditional and modern eating: the TEP10 framework. BMC Public Health, 19(1):1606. doi: 10.1186/s12889-019-7844-4.

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  • Sproesser, G., Ruby, M. B., Arbit, N., Akotia, C. S., Alvarenga, M., Bhangaokar, R., Furumitsu, I., Hu, X., Imada, S., Kaptan, G., Kaufer-Horwitz, M., Menon, U., Fischler, C., Rozin, P., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2022). Similar or different? Comparing food cultures with regard to traditional and modern eating across ten countries. Food research international (Ottawa, Ont.), 157, 111106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2022.111106

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  • Sproesser, G., Ruby, M. B., Arbit, N., Akotia, C. S., Alvarenga, M. d. S., Bhangaokar, R., Furumitsu, I., Hu, X., Imada, S., Kaptan, G., Kaufer-Horwitz, M., Menon, U., Fischler, C., Rozin, P., Schupp, H. T., & Renner, B. (2023). Homogen oder heterogen? Die Bedeutung von traditionellem und modernem Essverhalten im Ländervergleich. Ernährungsumschau, 2, M106-M114. https://www.doi.org/10.4455/eu.2023.005

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