Caitlin Shepherd earned her doctorate in counseling psychology from Colorado State University in 2012. In addition to teaching at Smith, including courses on research methods and abnormal psychology, she conducts research on eating disorders. Her current research focuses on transdiagnostic approaches to understanding, preventing and treating eating disorders and co-occurring obsessive-compulsive symptoms, with a particular emphasis on the role of psychological flexibility.

Shepherd also maintains a small private practice in Amherst, Massachusetts, where she provides psychotherapy and testing services.