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Raymond Carvajal, Psy.D.

Dr. Carvajal is a licensed Clinical Psychologist, who specializes in the cognitive-behavioral treatment of a variety of emotional and behavioral difficulties, including major depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, panic attacks, trauma, physical pain, sleep difficulties, and stress management. In addition, he specializes in the behavioral management of obesity, utilizing well-studied, empirically-supported methods to promote weight loss and improvements in global health. Dr. Carvajal also treats binge eating disorder, night eating syndrome, compulsive overeating, and body image disturbance, among many other weight-related concerns.

Academic Background

Dr. Carvajal received a Bachelor of Science in Education from Villanova University, followed by a Master of Arts in Clinical-Counseling Psychology from La Salle University. Thereafter, he received a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), earning the Dean’s Award For Academic Excellence in Clinical Psychology.

Dr. Carvajal completed a 1-year pre-doctoral internship at the Center for Brief Therapy at PCOM, where he provided cognitive-behavioral therapy to medical patients in primary care medical practices. After obtaining his doctorate degree, Dr. Carvajal completed a 2-year post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Weight and Eating Disorders. There, he conducted both individual and group therapy for patients with obesity and obesity-related medical and psychiatric comorbidities, targeting weight reduction through healthful lifestyle modification. In addition, he conducted psychological evaluations for patients seeking bariatric surgery through the University of Pennsylvania Health System, wherein he assessed patients’ readiness for surgery from a biological, behavioral, and psychosocial perspective. Dr. Carvajal continues to perform these evaluations for Penn Medicine today.

Professional Background

Dr. Carvajal's professional experience spans the delivery of cognitive-behavioral therapy to a variety of populations in a number of settings. He has treated individuals across the life span, from children to older adults, who have experienced a range of emotional and behavioral difficulties, such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and family and interpersonal problems. Dr. Carvajal has practiced in a variety of clinical settings, including schools, partial hospitals, primary care medical practices, community-based mental health centers, university-based counseling centers, and hospital-based departments.

In addition, Dr. Carvajal has accumulated over 10 years of experience in researching novel behavioral and pharmacologic approaches to the treatment of obesity at the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Weight and Eating Disorders, where he was awarded the Patricia Lipschutz Distinguished Clinician Award in 2015. He has published numerous articles on obesity in peer-reviewed, professional journals.

From 2013 to 2018, Dr. Carvajal served as the Director of Psychotherapy Services at the University of Pennsylvania’s Outpatient Psychiatry Center (Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania), wherein he provided cognitive-behavioral therapy to adults presenting with a variety of psychiatric diagnoses, managed and supervised psychologists and psychotherapists on-staff, provided supervision in cognitive-behavioral therapy to doctoral psychology students and advanced psychiatry residents, and led the doctoral education program in the department.

"The greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it."

-Epictetus