This week on The Food Allergy Brain, Mia sits down with Dr. Linda Herbert, Director of Psychology Research and Clinical Services in the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Children's National Hospital and NIH-funded researcher. Dr. Herbert has spent over a decade building evidence-based psychological interventions for food allergy families, and in this conversation, she shares what she's learned.

They discuss how the field of food allergy psychology has shifted from simply documenting anxiety to actively creating solutions, including the surprising and often dangerous realities of food allergy-related bullying, the stress of mealtime dynamics for parents of young children, and the emerging questions around food allergies and disordered eating. Dr. Herbert also breaks down her work with exposure-based approaches like allergen proximity challenges, the role of telehealth in making care more accessible and equitable, and how parental anxiety shifts across a child's developmental stages. The episode closes with Dr. Herbert's vision for what a truly integrated medical and psychological support system for food allergy families could and should look like.

Whether you're a food allergy parent, a young adult navigating allergies on your own, or someone working in the allergy space, this episode is packed with insight, research, and hope.

Find Dr. Linda Herbert, PhD:
Website: https://appointments.childrensnational.org/provider/linda-jones-herbert/2359772

Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):

Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia

Website: allergieswithmia.com

In this episode of The Food Allergy Brain, host Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia) sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins, a psychologist specializing in food allergy-related anxiety and trauma, to explore the emotional realities of living with life-threatening allergies.

Dr. Hawkins shares her journey from being trained as a child and adolescent psychologist to becoming a food allergy psychologist after her daughter was diagnosed with multiple severe allergies. Drawing from both clinical expertise and lived experience as an allergy mom, she discusses how food allergies reshape the way families understand safety, risk, and control.

Together, they unpack the difference between everyday anxiety and anxiety disorders, what happens emotionally after anaphylaxis, and why trying to eliminate anxiety altogether may not be the goal. Dr. Hawkins introduces acceptance-based approaches like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Internal Family Systems (IFS), explaining how building psychological flexibility and self-trust can help individuals and families live fully — even when risk is part of the picture.

They also explore grief, trauma, burnout, social isolation, misinformation in the allergy space, and the urgent need for integrated mental health support within allergy care. The episode concludes with a hopeful discussion about resilience, emerging treatments, and what a truly supportive emotional and medical system for food allergy families could look like.

Find Dr. Elizabeth Hawkins, PhD:
Website: www.dr-elizabeth.com
Food Allergy Hive: www.fahive.com
Instagram: @foodallergypsychologist

Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):

Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia

Website: allergieswithmia.com

In this episode of The Food Allergy Brain, host Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia) sits down with Zachary Rubin, a double board-certified pediatrician and allergist-immunologist with a large and influential social media platform, to explore what it truly means to live with and care for food allergies today.

Dr. Rubin shares his journey from growing up with severe eczema to becoming a trusted voice in allergy education, both in the clinic and online. Together, they explore the emotional impact of a food allergy diagnosis, including parental guilt, anxiety, bullying, and the constant mental load of risk assessment.

They also discuss medical misinformation, the responsibility physicians carry in the public eye, and why compassionate, multidisciplinary care, including mental health and dietary support, is just as essential as medical treatment. The episode concludes with a hopeful look at emerging allergy therapies and what better support systems for patients and families could look like in the future.

Find Dr. Zachary Rubin, MD:
Instagram & TikTok: @rubin_allergy
Substack: https://drrubin.substack.com/
Pre-order Dr. Rubin's book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790561/all-about-allergies-by-zachary-rubin-md/

Find Mia Silverman (Allergies with Mia):
Instagram & TikTok: @allergieswithmia
Website: allergieswithmia.com