Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are characterized by persistent food-related or eating behaviors that harm your health, emotions, or ability to function. They often involve an individual focusing too much on weight, body shape, and food. Most commonly, these take the form of anorexia, bulimia, or binge-eating. Anorexia involves excessively limiting calories and/or using other methods to lose weight (e.g. exercise, laxatives). People with anorexia often have an extreme fear of gaining weight and have an abnormally low body weight, along with a distorted perception of their weight or body shape. Bulimia involves periods of eating a large amount of food in a short time (bingeing), followed by attempting to rid oneself of the extra calories in an unhealthy way (such as forced vomiting). These behaviors are often accompanied by a sense of a total lack of control. Binge-eating disorder involves eating too much food, past the point of being full, at least once a week, and feeling a lack of control over this behavior. If you recognize any of these symptoms in yourself, a qualified professional therapist can help. Reach out to one of TherapyDen’s eating disorder experts for help today.

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Eating disorders are my passion and speciality. ED clients are the strongest people I know. They learn to see their strength through separating ED's negative power into finding ones true self away from the ED. I have an incredible success rate of hundreds of recovered clients. I love my ED clients and it's amazing to see them grow into themselves with empowerment and most often complete recovery.

— Mary Beth Tevebaugh, Clinical Social Worker in Prospect, KY

Disordered eating has a way of sneaking up on you, even years after you thought you'd conquered it. Maintaining recovery from an eating disorder is tough when life throws us challenges. You might be noticing restricting behaviors popping up when you're under a lot of stress. Maybe you still can't miss a day working out without extreme guilt and anxiety. Finding yourself bingeing again after a frustrating phone call with your mom? I get it. Together, we can take your recovery to the next level.

— Chloe Cox, Psychotherapist in Irvine, CA
 

I have experience working in treatment centers and my clinical supervisor I trained under has decades of eating disorder therapy experience. I utilize a non diet, fat positive, and weight inclusive approach to care. I take a collaborative approach and work closely with dietitians, primary care providers, and psychiatrists.

— Rebecca Reilly, Licensed Professional Counselor in Dallas, TX

As a certified eating disorder specialist and certified intuitive eating counselor, I am equipped to help individuals navigate body image and food struggles.

— Kate Albarella, Counselor in Orlando, FL
 

I have several years of experience in treating Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. I am trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for ARFID, Family Base Therapy for Anorexia and restrictive eating and a HAES aligned provider supporting binge eating disorder.

— Amanda Hagos, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Fremont, CA

Eating disorders are often misunderstood and can be difficult to recognize, especially for those unfamiliar with them. Through my professional experience, I have worked with individuals facing a wide range of disordered eating challenges, including extreme restriction, binge eating, and ARFID. In supporting clients with these symptoms, we work together to uncover the root causes of these negative behaviors and develop practical skills and coping strategies.

— Briana Rogers, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Associate in Fairfield, CT
 

For the past seven years, I have worked with clients struggling with eating disorders at the partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and outpatient level. After working as a milieu therapist, primary therapist, and group therapy facilitator at an eating disorder treatment center, I began working as an outpatient therapist in private practice specifically focusing on members of the LGBTQ+ community who struggle with body image and eating

— Zach Verwey, Licensed Professional Counselor in Denver, CO

Societal pressures oftentimes reinforce the beliefs that for an individual to struggle with an eating disorder it must be physically apparent and symptoms must be "extreme." All-or-nothing thinking fuels engagement in eating disorder behaviors. Whether it is restriction, bingeing, bingeing & purging, and/or focus on eating "healthy" foods, I believe that each person's recovery will be unique. My philosophy is that all foods fit. Orthorexia

— Leslie Aguilar, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Studio City, CA
 

I have been working with eating disorders for almost 4 years. I utilize various modalities when treating eating disorders, such as Internal Family Systems, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. I look through the lens of Health at Every Size and Intuitive Eating when treating eating disorders.

— Luis Macias-Abbott, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in ,

Getting help for an eating disorder or disordered eating can feel daunting. I believe that eating disorders are developed as a coping skill to help people get through difficult times in their lives. While they're effective, they're often harmful, and treatment sometimes looks like replacing them with more adaptive techniques and skills. I will work to go at a pace you're comfortable with, and we can slowly work to find stability with food, your body, and your sense of self.

— Gray D'Andrea, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in New York, NY
 

Food is one of the earliest ways we humans experience nurturance and interaction with a caring adult. food takes on many meanings about relationships, needs, control, and the value of self. The development of an eating disorder signals a problem in one or several of these areas; it arises as an attempt to solve this problem, by drawing attention to the problem, by pulling the family together to address symptoms of the eating disorder; or expressing/repressing feelings related to current problem.

— Tatum Santacasa, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Eugene, OR

By addressing the underlying emotional, psychological, and behavioral factors contributing to disordered eating, I guide clients toward developing healthier relationships with food, body image, and self-esteem. My goal is to empower individuals to break free from the destructive cycle of disordered eating, fostering lasting change and promoting overall well-being.

— Lauren Garza, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist in , PA
 

For the past seven years, I have worked with clients struggling with eating disorders at the partial hospitalization, intensive outpatient, and outpatient level. After working as a milieu therapist, primary therapist, and group therapy facilitator at an eating disorder treatment center, I began working as an outpatient therapist in private practice specifically focusing on members of the LGBTQ+ community who struggle with body image and eating

— Zach Verwey, Licensed Professional Counselor in Denver, CO

Weight issues/Body image Improving relationships with food Exercise addiction

— Aimee Jordan, Clinical Psychologist in San Mateo, CA
 

Eating disorders are typically a symptom of something much bigger we have struggled with in our lives. Living with an eating disorder typically looks like constantly maintaining control in a world where you constantly feel out of control. You may filter "food noise" every moment of the day, whether that's counting down to the next time you eat or guilting yourself for the last thing you ate. Healing looks like control in healthy ways and freedom from the noise.

— Stephanie Townsend, Licensed Master of Social Work in Atlanta, GA

Many people use food to manage their emotions but are not fully aware that this is occurring. I work with individuals who sense that their relationship with food is not quite right. Perhaps this week tomatoes are bad. Next week it's the latest diet or eating clean week. Learn to understand your connection between emotional difficulties and how you use food. Transition into a more regulated way of living your life.

— John Edwards, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Oakland, CA
 

An eating disorder is a mental disorder defined by abnormal eating behaviors that adversely affect a person's physical or mental health. Common types include binge eating disorder, where a person eats a large amount in a short period of time; anorexia nervosa, where the person has an intense fear of gaining weight and restricts food or overexercises to manage this fear, & bulimia nervosa, where individuals eat a large quantity (binging) then try to rid themselves of the food (purging).

— Alana Heavirland, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Mission Viejo, CA

I am a certified eating disorder specialist, trainer and educator

— Dr Stephanie Waitt, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor Supervisor in Sherman, TX
 

Many of us feel disconnected from our bodies and frustrated with our relationship to food. You may be trapped in a cycle of restrictive and binge eating that leaves you feeling out of control and mistrusting of your body's intuition. I use a Health at Every Size (HAES) approach to create a safe space to help people of all sizes heal from disordered eating and negative body image.

— Maryann Bavisotto, Social Worker in Buffalo, NY

I come from a Healthy at Every Size approach and encourage balanced eating vs any type of dieting or food restriction. I work with individuals to understand the role of the eating disorder in their life and help them work towards more sustainable coping methods.

— Rachael Lastoff, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in Newport, KY