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About Us

Washington Center for Weight Management and Research offers a fully-integrated, team-treatment approach to weight management, combining medical, psychological, behavioral and nutritional support and education. Our experienced staff of health professionals are uniquely suited to working with weight-related issues. While there is a strong biological predisposition to the development of obesity, environmental and psychological factors play significant roles and these factors are addressed as part of your treatment. The effectiveness of a structured program for weight loss and maintenance is clear from the medical literature and our clinical experience. The supportive structure of the program includes weekly appointments with one of the team members ensuring contact with each of the team on a rotational basis. Groups for both education and discussion lend further support and reinforcement of the tools necessary not only for weight loss but also for maintenance.

Losing a significant amount of weight is difficult and can seem overwhelming. Maintaining the weight you lose can seem elusive. Our approach is different from a standard weight loss program - combining research-based principles with alternative mind-body techniques. We focus on wellness, insight, empowerment and support of personal change and growth. We are committed to working with you to make the broad changes necessary for weight loss and for weight maintenance.

The Washington Center conducts clinical research to help further the understanding of obesity as a disease and how to best treat it. Currently the research section is conducting pharmaceutical research trials examining the effects of various study drugs for weight loss and improved metabolic conditions. We also have an ongoing independently funded project with NIH, examining the relationship between cortisol and overweight. As obesity experts, we gain additional experience with medications before they come to market and maintain an ongoing connection with scientists in the field.

The core clinical team of Domenica Rubino, MD; Sheila Ramsey, PhD, MSW; Deannie Jennings, MSW; Kathy McFalls, MS, RD; Jessica Donze Black, MPH, RD and Jan Gagen, NP, CD have a collective experience of 50 years in working with weight management and have joined together to provide their vision for a team approach to weight management.

Listen to Dr. Rubino on the radio Press