An Interview with :: Dr. Marina Yacoub, PsyD

HOW DO YOU START TEACHING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EMOTIONAL CUES VS HUNGER CUES?

That mind body connection and building that interception. The body cues are not easy, and hunger cues are not easy. So sometimes I have to really sit down with somebody and just body scan and seeing like, where are we feeling things and how do we feel hunger? Do we feel hunger? When does that come up? Because that is kind of the source of, you know, ARFID or the binge eating. It could be the source of a lot of things. Not being able to know, am I full right now or am I hungry? Is this just a feeling that I’m having? Like, am I anxious but I’m not actually hungry? Or vice versa, like I’m hungry, but I’m feeling anxious. And how do we kind of differentiate, and how do we know the difference? And building that interception within our bodies, and also disconnecting food from emotion. Then we are kind of, again, seeing food as sustenance and not necessarily a I’m eating to satisfy this emotion, or I’m, you know, I’m having this emotion, therefore I’m eating and disconnecting the two.

Bio :: Dr. Marina Yacoub, PsyD

Dr. Yacoub is trained in EMDR as well as DBT and specializes in treating various traumas and disordered eating behaviors, utilizing her experience from working in intensive outpatient programs and partial hospitalization programs. Dr. Yacoub’s approach is rooted in evidence-based, systemic, trauma-informed theories, including experiential theories, narrative therapy, and Internal Family Systems (IFS) theory. She employs a client-centered, holistic methodology that considers each client’s unique intersectionalities and evaluates the social systems they are part of. By understanding a client’s lived experiences, cultural background, and societal influences, Dr. Yacoub helps individuals create their own new narratives and enhance their worldview. With a passion for teaching, Dr. Yacoub taught at Alliant International University, where she discovered her love for education and mentorship. This passion translates into her therapeutic work, where she strives to empower her clients. 

In her clinical practice, Dr. Yacoub offers a comprehensive range of therapies including trauma informed theories such as EMDR and other evidence-based approaches to help clients process and heal from traumatic experiences. She also utilizes DBT to address disordered eating behaviors with a compassionate and structured approach providing skills training and therapy to help clients manage emotions, reduce self-destructive behaviors, and improve relationships. Dr. Yacoub also utilizes a holistic, systemic approach to assess clients within the context of their social systems and help them discover and build upon their inherent strengths, fostering resilience and a renewed sense of hope.

UNIVERSITIES + DEGREES: Alliant International University [Doctor of Psychology], Hope International University [Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy], Arizona State University [Bachelor of Science in Public Health, Minor in Nutrition]

CERTIFICATIONS + TRAININGS: California Domestic Violence Counselor Certification, Trauma Focused- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Training (DBT), Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), Medical/Health Psychology certificate, and EMDR.