Therapy for Eating Disorders & Body Image
Outpatient Therapy for Eating Disorders Recovery & Disordered Eating:
Recovery from an eating disorder is hard. Recovery is much more than the termination of eating disorder symptoms, it is also about understanding contextual factors that maintain those symptoms and prevent change. There may be days when you feel like giving up, when you feel scared of change, or when you do not understand who you are without your eating disorder. At times, you may not feel confident in your ability to remain focused on your recovery and question if the time and energy is worth it. Recovery is possible for you and I am here to support you through it! Together we will explore how to navigate all of the challenges that may arise, stay on track with your recovery goals, and nurture your emotional awareness and expression.
Eating disorders I work with include: Anorexia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, Bulimia Nervosa, Orthorexia, Other Specified Feeding and Eating Disorder (OSFED).
Therapy for Caregivers to Someone with an Eating Disorder:
If you are a partner, caregiver, sibling or a friend of someone who has an eating disorder, I want you to know that the eating disorder is not your fault. You may feel helpless and unsure of how to best support them while also needing support yourself. Commonly, family members may blame themselves for the loved one’s eating disorder, may feel angry for the impact it has on relationships in the family, may struggle to understand how to help, and may experience an array of other reactions and feelings. It is important for you to feel supported too as your support can be a powerful resource for your loved one’s recovery. I am here to listen and support you. I will provide space for you to process your experience and reactions to your loved one’s eating disorder. We will identify your needs and explore ways for you to have a supportive presence in your loved one’s life and recovery. Together we will explore how to create an environment at home where recovery can thrive, not an eating disorder.
Therapy for Body Image Concerns:
You may be feeling disconnected from your body and frequently experience negative feelings towards your body. You may be finding yourself judging your appearance, comparing yourself to others, and feeling worthless as a result. You may be avoiding particular activities, social settings, or groups of people out of fear for your body to be seen or judged. Your body may be carrying past traumas that make it hard to feel love towards yourself and neutrality towards your body. Your body may have been treated as an object, been discriminated against, or oppressed by others and society. Whatever your experience is, I am here to support you! Together we will work on understanding factors that contribute to your relationship with your body and explore how you can develop a more compassionate outlook.
Therapy for Building a Healthy Relationship with Food:
Unhealthy relationships with food are grounded in perceptions you may have about food and your body, behaviors that you engage in, and emotions that you are trying to suppress, control, or avoid altogether by directing your focus to food. Some indicators of an unhealthy relationship with food are: labeling food as “good” or “bad”, avoiding some foods because they are not “clean” or “forbidden”, feeling guilt and shame after you eat particular foods, avoiding eating around others, focusing on dieting and “needing to change your body”, relying on food to manage your emotions, engaging in compensatory behaviors after you eat (using laxatives, diuretics, excessive exercise, self-induced vomiting), feeling out of control when you eat, engaging in exercise with the intention to manage your weight, or feeling overall preoccupied with thoughts about food. Food is not meant to be a tool for self-punishment, shame, control, or emotional suppression. Food is meant to nurture our bodies, it is a fuel that allows our bodies to carry on essential functioning. Together we will work towards understanding what informs your beliefs and behaviors around food, and explore how you can establish a healthy relationship with food that doesn’t control you.