Steven Levenkron

{{short description|American psychotherapist and writer (born 1941)}}

Steven Levenkron (born 1941) is an American psychotherapist and writer known for his research into anorexia nervosa and self-injury.{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989518,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080214005654/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,989518,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 14, 2008|title=What the Cutters Feel|author=Edwards, Tamala M.|magazine=Time|date=November 9, 1998|accessdate=August 24, 2010}} He lives in New York, where his practice is based.

Levenkron started his research in 1970 and later took part in the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.{{cite web|url=http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rguides/us/luckiest_girl_in_the_world.html|title=The Luckiest Girl in the World|publisher=Penguin Group|access-date=August 26, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100828175820/http://us.penguingroup.com/static/rguides/us/luckiest_girl_in_the_world.html|archive-date=August 28, 2010}} He gained popularity due to his 1978 novel The Best Little Girl in the World, which was recognized as a Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association{{cite web|url=http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=1062|title=Levenkron, Steven : The Best Little Girl in the World|publisher=New York University|accessdate=August 24, 2010}} and which later formed the basis of the American Broadcasting Company's television film The Best Little Girl in the World.Becker, Daniel (2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=PYETI9K_HeoC&pg=PA51 This Mean Disease: Growing Up in the Shadow of My Mother's Anorexia Nervosa]. Gurze Books. Google Books. Retrieved on August 24, 2010.{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/147193|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208145419/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/147193|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 8, 2009|title=The BEST LITTLE GIRL IN THE WORLD (1981)|publisher=British Film Institute|accessdate=August 24, 2010}}

His notable clients included Karen Carpenter, who died in 1983.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/03/22/style/doctors-cite-emetic-abuse.html|title=DOCTORS CITE EMETIC ABUSE|first=Carol|last=Lawson|work=The New York Times|date=March 22, 1985|accessdate=August 24, 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.kirotv.com/health/1391838/detail.html|title=Stars Vulnerable To Anorexia, Expert Says|first=Michelle|last=Solomon|publisher=KIRO-TV|date=April 10, 2002|accessdate=August 24, 2010}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

In 1998, W. W. Norton & Company published Levenkron's non-fiction book Cutting: Understanding and Overcoming Self-Mutilation. In the book, he insisted that self-injury was not related to suicide in essentials.{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/new-court-papers-tell-of-phoebes-dark-last-day-2142478.html|title=New court papers tell of Phoebe's dark last day|publisher=Irish Independent|date=April 18, 2010|accessdate=August 24, 2010}}

His book The Luckiest Girl in the World is the original work of the 2000 television movie Secret Cutting, produced by USA Network.{{cite web|url=http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=52495|title=When Scab-Picking, Cutting Becomes Addictive|first=Denise|last=Mann|publisher=MedicineNet|date=May 3, 2004|accessdate=August 25, 2010}}{{cite web|url=http://www.yesasia.com/global/painful-secrets-us-version/1021415595-0-0-0-en/info.html|title=Painful Secrets (US Version)|publisher=YesAsia|accessdate=August 25, 2010}}