Sarah Barakat

Dr Sarah Barakat is a Postdoctoral Research Associate and Acting Research Stream Lead at the InsideOut Institute for Eating Disorders, affiliated with the Sydney Medical School at the University of Sydney. As a Clinical Psychologist, she combines research with clinical practice across outpatient, community, and private settings.

• PhD in Clinical Psychology (University of Sydney, 2023)
• Master of Clinical Psychology (University of Sydney)
• Bachelor of Psychology (First Class Honors, University of Sydney)

Sarah specializes in digital interventions for eating disorders, focusing on enhancing therapeutic alliance and personalization through online platforms. Her work bridges implementation science with clinical innovation to improve accessibility of evidence-based treatments.

Recent publications highlight her research on digital CBT for bulimia and binge-eating disorders, therapeutic alliance in online treatment, and implementation strategies for scalable mental health solutions. She leads the development of the InsideOut eClinic platform.

Scientific Awards

• 2023: Rachel Bryant Waugh Excellence in Child and Adolescent Eating Disorders Award
• 2022: Peter Beumont Young Investigator Award
• 2020: Emerging Researcher Prize eHealth@Sydney

Grants: 2024 MRFF grant for personalized youth mental health care, Brain and Mind Centre grant for personalized digital interventions, and Charles Perkins Centre funding for obesity-related research.