Information about the Behavioral Diabetes Institute - professional team and directors

BDI Mission

The Behavioral Diabetes Institute (BDI), with its team of dedicated professionals, is a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to helping people with diabetes live long, healthy and happy lives.

Diabetes can wreak terrible harm, but recent scientific evidence indicates that most long-term complications can be delayed or prevented when there is good medical care and good self-management. Unfortunately, most people with diabetes are not achieving the metabolic goals necessary for good health.

Living well with diabetes takes time, knowledge, and effort. And diabetes can be tough to handle. Many people become overwhelmed, frustrated, or "burned out" by the daily hassles of diabetes and by the unending, often burdensome self-care demands. Many report feeling angry, guilty, frightened, discouraged, or unmotivated about diabetes. Relationships may become strained.

Addressing these real-life emotional aspects of diabetes is critical for long-term success, yet often they are given little attention in common medical practice. The BDI was created to better recognize, understand, and tackle these problems. To accomplish these tasks, the BDI provides:

  1. Clinical services for people with diabetes. Diabetes-specific psychological support programs and behaviorally-based education and training in diabetes self-management are provided in group-based settings. All BDI programs are designed to help people with diabetes overcome the emotional and behavioral obstacles to living well with the disease. Through such programs, participants develop an improved outlook on life as well as greater confidence and control over diabetes.
  2. Professional services for health care professionals. Comprehensive training programs in behavioral diabetes interventions for physicians, dietitians, nurses, diabetes educators, mental health professionals, and other health care providers.
  3. Research programs. Ongoing research projects which aim to evaluate and document the efficacy of behavioral interventions as integral parts of diabetes care, additions to standard diabetes education programs, and as stand-alone projects.

Would you like to get involved and help the BDI in some way?
Please click here for more information on our Volunteer program.