Dr. Maddie E. Barron, Psy.D., HSPP, is a clinical/sport psychologist and joined the Sport Psychology team at Northwestern in June 2020. She provides mental health and mental performance services for Northwestern University varsity student-athletes and is a member of various multidisciplinary and high performance teams within NUDAR. Dr. Barron serves as the primary team sport psychologist for women’s cross country, women’s volleyball, men’s wrestling, men’s tennis, and the cheer/spirit squad.
Dr. Barron has dedicated her career to working with elite performers and advancing the education, prevention, identification and clinical practice for the continuum of disordered eating in sport and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDS). Her doctoral research focused on exploring student-athlete mental health, female athletes with eating disorders, and the Female Athlete Triad. During her time at Midwestern, she embarked on a multi-year project replicating a 2002 study published by the NCAA and leaders in the field of eating disorders in sport. In 2013, her dissertation work culminated and exceeded expectations in evaluating over 1,000 NCAA Division I coaches and their attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and interventions with female athletes with disordered eating and the Female Athlete Triad.
Prior to her role at Northwestern, Dr. Barron served as a sport psychologist at UCONN from 2014-2020 where she worked with staff and varsity student-athletes across all sports. In this role, she was on staff in both the university counseling center and Sports Medicine department in athletics. Dr. Barron is a licensed clinical psychologist in the State of Illinois and State of Indiana. She also holds a certification in Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement (MSPE).
A former elite athlete, Dr. Barron was a 4-year women’s volleyball student-athlete at the University of Cincinnati (2002-2005). She was a member of squads who reached AVCA Top 25 regular season rankings, earned multiple NCAA tournament appearances, and achieved a 2003 regular season conference championship.
A Chicago native, Dr. Barron is a very proud graduate of Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School on the city’s southwest side. Prior to joining the Bearcats, Dr. Barron had a storied career for the Mighty Macs which included being named a Junior Olympic All-American, and earning multiple national All-American, Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Sun Times nods. She and the 2000 IHSA state volleyball championship team were inducted into the Chicagoland Girls Catholic Athletic Conference (GCAC) Hall of Fame in 2017.
Education
Midwestern University – Psy.D. Clinical Psychology
Midwestern University – M.A. Clinical Psychology
University of Cincinnati – B.A. Psychology, Biopsychology & Pre Medicine concentrations
Training
University of Connecticut (UCONN) – Doctoral Intern (2012-2013)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst – Post Doctoral Fellow (2013-2014)
Presentations
Weidman, C., Barron, M., Miller, J., Dougherty, G., Mjaanes, J. (May 2024). Perseverance and Grit: Treating Athletes with REDS as a Multidisciplinary Team. Presentation at the 2024 Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietician Association (CPSDA) Annual Convention. Kansas City, MO.
Miller, J., Weidman, C., Barron, M., Dougherty, G., Stevens, D. (December 2023). At Odds with Your Sports Medicine Team? Optimizing Performance Through Coach-Sports Medicine Collaboration. Presentation at the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Annual Convention. Denver, CO.
Barron, M. & Bilder, C. (June 2023). Mental Health & Today’s Athlete: Cultivating Well-Being, Resilience and Performance with Effective Relationships. Presentation at the Northwestern University Sport Performance Summit. Evanston, IL.
Barron, M. (May 2023). Athlete Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Training. Presentation for the Athletic Equipment Managers Association (AEMA) – District V Annual Conference. Virtual.
Weidman, C., Barron, M. (January 2022). A Multidisciplinary Approach in the Treatment of Athletes with RED-S. Presentation for the Illinois Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics – West Suburban District. Virtual.
Barron, M. (January 2019). Psychological Response to Injury. Presentation for the University of Connecticut Department of Kinesiology. Storrs, CT.
Barron, M. (October 2018). Helping the Helper: Navigating Student-Athlete Mental Health. Presentation for the University of Connecticut Sports Medicine Department & the Department of Kinesiology. Storrs, CT.
Dr. Barron has dedicated her career to working with elite performers and advancing the education, prevention, identification and clinical practice for the continuum of disordered eating in sport and Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport (REDS). Her doctoral research focused on exploring student-athlete mental health, female athletes with eating disorders, and the Female Athlete Triad. During her time at Midwestern, she embarked on a multi-year project replicating a 2002 study published by the NCAA and leaders in the field of eating disorders in sport. In 2013, her dissertation work culminated and exceeded expectations in evaluating over 1,000 NCAA Division I coaches and their attitudes, beliefs, knowledge and interventions with female athletes with disordered eating and the Female Athlete Triad.
Prior to her role at Northwestern, Dr. Barron served as a sport psychologist at UCONN from 2014-2020 where she worked with staff and varsity student-athletes across all sports. In this role, she was on staff in both the university counseling center and Sports Medicine department in athletics. Dr. Barron is a licensed clinical psychologist in the State of Illinois and State of Indiana. She also holds a certification in Mindful Sport Performance Enhancement (MSPE).
A former elite athlete, Dr. Barron was a 4-year women’s volleyball student-athlete at the University of Cincinnati (2002-2005). She was a member of squads who reached AVCA Top 25 regular season rankings, earned multiple NCAA tournament appearances, and achieved a 2003 regular season conference championship.
A Chicago native, Dr. Barron is a very proud graduate of Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School on the city’s southwest side. Prior to joining the Bearcats, Dr. Barron had a storied career for the Mighty Macs which included being named a Junior Olympic All-American, and earning multiple national All-American, Chicago Tribune, and Chicago Sun Times nods. She and the 2000 IHSA state volleyball championship team were inducted into the Chicagoland Girls Catholic Athletic Conference (GCAC) Hall of Fame in 2017.
Education
Midwestern University – Psy.D. Clinical Psychology
Midwestern University – M.A. Clinical Psychology
University of Cincinnati – B.A. Psychology, Biopsychology & Pre Medicine concentrations
Training
University of Connecticut (UCONN) – Doctoral Intern (2012-2013)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst – Post Doctoral Fellow (2013-2014)
Presentations
Weidman, C., Barron, M., Miller, J., Dougherty, G., Mjaanes, J. (May 2024). Perseverance and Grit: Treating Athletes with REDS as a Multidisciplinary Team. Presentation at the 2024 Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietician Association (CPSDA) Annual Convention. Kansas City, MO.
Miller, J., Weidman, C., Barron, M., Dougherty, G., Stevens, D. (December 2023). At Odds with Your Sports Medicine Team? Optimizing Performance Through Coach-Sports Medicine Collaboration. Presentation at the United States Track & Field Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Annual Convention. Denver, CO.
Barron, M. & Bilder, C. (June 2023). Mental Health & Today’s Athlete: Cultivating Well-Being, Resilience and Performance with Effective Relationships. Presentation at the Northwestern University Sport Performance Summit. Evanston, IL.
Barron, M. (May 2023). Athlete Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Training. Presentation for the Athletic Equipment Managers Association (AEMA) – District V Annual Conference. Virtual.
Weidman, C., Barron, M. (January 2022). A Multidisciplinary Approach in the Treatment of Athletes with RED-S. Presentation for the Illinois Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics – West Suburban District. Virtual.
Barron, M. (January 2019). Psychological Response to Injury. Presentation for the University of Connecticut Department of Kinesiology. Storrs, CT.
Barron, M. (October 2018). Helping the Helper: Navigating Student-Athlete Mental Health. Presentation for the University of Connecticut Sports Medicine Department & the Department of Kinesiology. Storrs, CT.