Eating Disorder Therapy

Are you struggling with your relationship with food and body?

Does your tendency to avoid eating at social gatherings make you feel distant from your family and friends? Do you have strict dietary restrictions or “rules” around food? Have you been grappling with negative body image and low self-esteem?

Eating disorders can take a toll on your physical and mental health. Over time, you may feel like you have high or low blood sugar, or feel dizzy or lightheaded. Yet you push through these feelings in an effort to hide your symptoms. Sometimes, you might experience uncomfortable gastric issues. Despite your health troubles, you might be avoiding medical care because you worry about what your doctor would say.

Living With an Eating Disorder Can Be Isolating

Disordered eating patterns can also interfere with your social life. You might be nervous about eating around other people, and dodging questions from your loved ones can leave you feeling anxious, depressed, and alone. Pushback can lead to conflicts and rifts in your relationships.

Trying to build relationships with potential new friends or romantic partners can feel like an overwhelming task, and your lack of confidence may hold you back in this area. You might find it difficult to advocate for yourself or make decisions because it’s hard to show up authentically in your relationships when your eating disorder impacts your self-worth.

You may be tired of feeling like you’re never “enough” as you are, yet you don’t know how to move forward. You do not need to navigate the eating disorder recovery process on your own. By working with me, a qualified, compassionate therapist, you can take gradual steps towards long-term recovery.

Social And Cultural Influences Can Contribute to Negative Body Image

Our culture bombards us with all kinds of messaging that links our physical appearance and size with self-worth. We’re surrounded by advertisements that tell us we need to change ourselves to be truly happy, and we can only be loved and accepted if we look a certain way. Not only does this have an impact on our self-image, but it also influences how we relate to others. People might shy away from authenticity or settle for poor treatment in relationships because they don’t believe they are worthy of more.

Our families also strongly influence our relationships with food and self-perception. If your parents frequently discussed weight, food, and diets, you might have repeated or continued those patterns. Furthermore, some parents place an unhealthy emphasis on appearance and weight, and growing up, you may have held these critical beliefs all the way into adulthood. If one’s family members maintain a “fixed” mindset that encourages perfectionist tendencies and all-or-nothing thinking, breaking free from these rigid thought patterns can feel overwhelming.

Additionally, some people develop eating disorders as a result of past trauma. They might be attempting to wrestle back control in one aspect of their life without realizing that their trauma is driving these behaviors.

Why Is It So Hard to Overcome Problematic Eating?

Many people seek temporary solutions to their anxieties around food and body image. Crash diets might seem like a simple answer, but these restrictions and detrimental habits do not address the roots of the problem, and they can lead to troubling physical symptoms that negatively affect one’s quality of life.

Working with the right therapist can be a critical component of eating disorder recovery. Through therapy, you can break free from restricting or binge eating and deepen your sense of self-worth while building a life you find truly fulfilling.

Eating Disorder Therapy Can Help You Make Peace with Your Body

In my practice, I provide treatment for clients living with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and other related concerns. I also work with clients who are struggling with their body image or trying to overcome disordered eating patterns, even if they do not have a specific diagnosis. In counseling, I’ll help you reach a place of not only self-acceptance, but self-appreciation through self-compassion, allowing you to release self-judgment, greatly improve your relationships, and build a richer life.

What to Expect in Eating Disorder Counseling

When you begin therapy, we’ll typically spend the first few sessions exploring possible causes or functions of your eating disorder. We’ll consider how these habits serve as temporary coping mechanisms for complex emotions, and we’ll also discuss how your eating disorder has impacted your relationships, self-image, and other areas of your life.

Often, clients in eating disorder therapy are working with other healthcare professionals, such as dietitians, primary care physicians, psychiatrists, or sponsors in 12-step programs. I can provide guidance on navigating conversations with your support team, and I can also update your team on your symptoms and progress when helpful.

While working with me, you’ll be able to contact me for ongoing support between sessions through a secure, confidential client portal.

Treatment Approaches for Eating Disorder Therapy

In my practice, I take a holistic approach to eating disorder therapy, honoring the mind-body connection with an emphasis on self-compassion and mindfulness. During sessions, we’ll work on a wide range of healthy coping skills, such as emotional regulation and grounding, to help you stay centered when your circumstances feel overwhelming. I’ll also help you shift your perspective away from all-or-nothing thinking so that you can become more psychologically flexible and less self-critical.

I use Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART) to grant clients rapid relief from their symptoms while we target the core issues that contribute to their eating disorders. ART incorporates guided imagery and eye movements to target and get relief from specific traumas, which often takes between one to five sessions. 

Eating disorders may be rooted in various traumatic incidents that seem minor at the time, yet have a profound mental health impact in adulthood. Therefore, we can dedicate a number of sessions to each specific form of trauma, which can include issues like pressure from peers or bullying, criticism from family, or other experiences that may have impacted your relationship with food or your body.

Healing within relationships can be a transformative aspect of eating disorder therapy. I’m a group co-facilitator for the National Alliance for Eating Disorders, and I often refer my clients to their support groups, which are hosted by mental health professionals who specialize in eating disorder counseling.

As a certified yoga instructor, I can recommend simple therapeutic poses for relaxation, motivation and energy, and other purposes. Creative self-expression can also be a powerful medium for healing, and I’ll provide you with journaling prompts for reflection.

You deserve to find peace and contentment in your relationship with food and your body. Through therapy, you will learn to embrace your authentic self.

But You May Still Have Questions About Eating Disorder Therapy…

Can a therapist truly understand what I’m going through?

As a counselor, I have over 20 years of experience working with clients with eating disorders, including severe, enduring anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, and other disordered eating patterns. I’ve helped many clients overcome what they initially present as food addiction and emotional eating. No matter your symptoms or your circumstances, I will meet you where you are and create a safe, welcoming environment for healing where you can release self-judgment.

My eating disorder has affected my relationships, but can therapy really help if I’m attending sessions alone?

If your eating disorder interferes with your relationships, individual therapy can still help you reconnect with your loved ones and advocate for yourself within family systems, intimate relationships, and friendships. I often refer to eating disorder counseling as “relationship therapy for one,” because deepening your self-compassion and self-confidence can have such a powerful, positive impact on your relationships.

I’ve tried therapy before, and nothing changed. How will this be any different?

We’ll learn from your past therapy experiences to bypass approaches that may be detrimental to your healing and emphasize skills and techniques that serve you instead. I’ll also equip you with coping skills in your first sessions so that you can find immediate relief as we delve into the root causes of your eating disorder. Over time, I can guide you in shifting from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset, preparing you to make lasting changes.

Through Counseling, You Can Heal Your Relationship With Food And Your Body Image

If you have been living with an eating disorder, you might be ready to seek support for your path to recovery. Fill out this form or call or text me at 407-622-0202 to schedule a free, 15-minute consultation or book your first session.