Therapy for Eating Disorders

Are you sick of that voice in your head that rips you apart every time you eat a cookie or even a single pretzel? I’ve been there, and I can help.

Eating disorders and body image issues can wreak havoc on your life. Despite being smart, supportive of those you love, and conscientious, life feels really hard. You feel out of control, and the eating “rules” that once worked for you have now taken over your life.

I trained in the treatment of acute eating disorders at The Renfrew Center, and I have been treating eating disorders in my private practice for 20 years. I understand how hard it can be to work on this part of your life (99% of my clients are reluctant to “give up” their eating disorder), so I’ll help you to navigate treatment at a pace that feels comfortable for you.

How do you know if you have an eating disorder?

Eating disorder symptoms vary from person to person.

•Some individuals feel trapped in a binge/purge cycle where they eat what they consider to be a large amount of food and then purge it by over-exercising, vomiting, or restricting food the following day.

•Other folks simply restrict their caloric intake, subsisting on an unhealthy 1000 (or less) calories a day.

•Some of my clients train for endurance events (triathlons, marathons) solely as a means of keeping their weight down.

•Some of my clients become fixated on “clean eating” to the point where they can’t enjoy dining out or going on vacation because they don’t feel comfortable eating food that they did not prepare themselves.

While these eating disorders look different from the outside, the bottom line is that these individuals are tortured by a vicious voice in their head that fixates on their weight and food intake at the expense of enjoying their otherwise full lives.

Questions about eating disorder treatment

No, only your primary care doctor or dietician will weigh you in their offices. I will, however, communicate with your treatment team about your weight.
That's a hard question to answer, because that depends on your overall health and body weight at the time of treatment. Certainly we will discuss any fears that you have about weight gain as it pertains to treatment.
Mental health professionals rarely use the term 'cured' when discussing treatment for any psychiatric condition. Eating disorders are, however, very treatable conditions. Many of my clients have successfully renegotiated their relationship with food and are now able to enjoy their lives without hearing the voice of an eating disorder criticizing their every decision.
That depends on the severity of the eating disorder and also your commitment to the treatment. If you are motivated to tackle the eating disorder, most of my clients experience a reduction in symptoms in about 8 sessions.

Here are the questions that come up most often in my practice. You’re not alone!

How we’ll work together on
your eating disorder

The first thing we’ll do when we start working together is look at all of your eating disorder symptoms and decide together which symptom is causing you the most distress and then work on reducing it.

I’ll likely refer you to a dietician so you can work together to plan healthy and satisfying meals and snacks. I’ll also work closely with your primary care physician to ensure that your physical health is stable.

As we begin to modify or decrease your eating disorder symptoms, we’ll also start to uncover and understand the patterns, thoughts, behaviors, and emotions that underlie your disordered eating.

Together we’ll work to build emotional tolerance and new coping skills so you no longer need the eating disorder symptoms to deal with anxiety, sadness or guilt.

After treatment, my clients find that they are finally able to enjoy their lives again (if not for the first time!). And while the eating disorder voice might whisper from time to time, they’re able to ignore it and continue living with more joy, ease, and vibrance.