Dr Erica Cini joined King’s College London in April 2022 as a Clinical Senior Lecturer (Education) at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, where she leads the MSc in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. She contributes extensively to postgraduate education and clinical training.

She is a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, Eating Disorder Specialist and Clinical Academic. Alongside her academic role, she serves as Deputy Clinical Director for Mental Health (London Region) at NHS England, where she provides clinical leadership across London mental health services and contributes to the development and implementation of the London Mental Health Strategy. She has also contributed to national work on the development of eating disorder services and clinical practice. Clinically, she practices at East London NHS Foundation Trust, where she is Lead Consultant Psychiatrist for the Eating Disorder Intensive Programme for Children and Young People.

Her research focuses on eating disorders in children and young people, with particular interests in cultural influences on presentation and help-seeking, early identification, and the development of community-based and intensive outpatient treatment models.

Her work sits at the interface of clinical practice, research and health service development, with a particular focus on improving access to evidence-based care for young people with eating disorders and strengthening multidisciplinary training in child and adolescent mental health.

In addition to her role at King’s, she is an Honorary Associate Professor and Programme Lead at University College London, where she leads the MSc in Eating Disorders and Clinical Nutrition. She also serves as a clinical advisor to Beat.

Research Interests

Dr Cini’s research focuses on improving the identification, understanding and treatment of eating disorders in children and young people. Her work spans clinical research, community-based studies and service development, with a particular interest in how cultural context, access to care and treatment pathways influence outcomes.

She leads programmes of research focused on psychoeducation and early intervention (including the Be Body Positive initiative), as well as the development and evaluation of intensive outpatient programmes for eating disorders.

She supervises research projects at MSc, PhD and DClinPsy level in areas related to eating disorders, child and adolescent mental health and service development.

Publications and current research activity can be viewed on her ResearchGate profile:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Erica-Cini?ev=hdr_xprf

Main research themes:
- Eating disorders in children and adolescents
- Cultural and community influences on eating disorder presentation and help-seeking
- Eating disorders in underrepresented and minority populations
- Early identification and care pathways for young people with eating disorders
- Intensive outpatient and community-based treatment models
- Service development, evaluation and system transformation in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS)

Her research aims to inform clinical practice, service development and policy relating to eating disorders in children and young people.

Research Groups

Dr Cini leads two collaborative research programmes focused on improving the understanding and treatment of eating disorders in children and young people.

One programme focuses on cultural influences on eating disorder presentation and help-seeking, including community-based mixed-methods research examining eating disorder presentations among British Bangladeshi adolescents and young adults. The second focuses on the development and evaluation of intensive outpatient programmes for eating disorders, with a particular interest in improving access to specialist care and strengthening community-based treatment pathways.

These programmes bring together clinicians, researchers, voluntary sector organisations and postgraduate students to support collaborative research and the translation of evidence into clinical practice.

Teaching

Dr Cini is Programme Lead for the MSc in Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London.  She contributes to postgraduate teaching across a range of programmes and supervises research projects at MSc, PhD and DClinPsy level. Her teaching focuses on child and adolescent mental health, eating disorders and the translation of clinical research into practice.  In addition to her role at King’s, she is an Honorary Associate Professor at University College London where she leads the MSc in Eating Disorders and Clinical Nutrition.

Expertise and Public Engagement

Dr Cini contributes to public and professional engagement through invited lectures, conference presentations and multidisciplinary training events aimed at improving the recognition and treatment of eating disorders in children and young people. She regularly participates in professional panels and educational forums supporting clinicians, trainees and allied professionals working in eating disorders. She also collaborates with clinical and voluntary sector partners to support knowledge exchange and the development of resources that promote earlier identification and improved care pathways for young people with eating disorders. She chairs national conferences and professional events in the field of eating disorders and contributes to European and international conferences on child and adolescent mental health and eating disorders.