Eating Disorders

This has been an area of expertise and passion for me. I have worked with eating disorders in all levels of care. I have worked with all eating disorders and with the families impacted. This is a very life-threatening disease that never travels alone so expertise in working with co-occurring diagnoses in imperative. I work collaboratively with dietitians, medical providers, and psychiatric providers to create a multidisciplinary approach

I work with individuals who suffer with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, or other forms of dysregulated eating and body dysmorphia. Eating disorders are often birthed within traumatic experiences where we block intolerable feelings of fear and shame with obsessions around eating and body size/weight. I am a body positive therapist, and I help my clients learn to listen to and respect their body's wisdom. Learning to trust the body and learning self-compassion are keys to healing.

I'm current President of the Denver Metro Chapter of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals (iaedp) and the former Education Chair. I've conducted research and published articles on eating disorders and am a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist Consultant (CEDS-C). I've worked in hospital inpatient, residential, and outpatient settings treating eating and feeding problems.

During my master's program, I spent much time writing papers and researching eating disorders. EDs are a major concern for the adolescent and emerging adult communities. I completed my capstone project/presentation on EDs in order to spread awareness and knowledge to other young counseling professionals on the risk factors for these populations as well as ways in which to best treat these disorders within these two populations.

For the last 3 years I have been working in a hospital setting treating children and adolescents with Eating Disorders. I received training in Family Based Treatment (FBT) and Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT). Having a child with an Eating Disorder is incredibly stressful and terrifying and can create crisis in the family system. I enjoyed working with the patients and providing caregivers with the skills and tools they need to support their child through recovery.

I have sharpened my skills and expertise through a combination of formal education, ongoing professional development, and hands-on experience with diverse clients. My journey to becoming an expert in this field started with a deep passion for understanding the connections between psychological well-being and disordered eating behaviors.

I view eating disorders as coping skills that many of us develop in a state of survival - they protect our bodies from things that are perceived as unsafe to know, feel, or embody. Though these patterns are maladaptive, they serve a real purpose and it's only when we can befriend these protective parts that we effectively let them go. Healing is viewing the disordered eating in a compassionate light and bringing the body back into safety.

I treat all eating disorders through a Health at Every size lens. This includes anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, avoidant and restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), orthorexia, and other feeding and eating disorders. I also work with weight and body image issues for cis and trans individuals.

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 disorder behaviors.

Often times, we determine our self-worth through body image, comparison to others, and societal norms. The supportive environment I provide creates an opportunity to make your disordered eating talkable and less shameful. I utilize mindfulness and somatic techniques which help provide grounding while aligning you with who you are. Together we can change the negative narrative of body image equating to self-worth.

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.

I pride myself in understanding the complexities of Eating Disorders, and recognize that they serve a unique function for each individual that I work with. I have extensive experience working with Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, Orthorexia, ARFID, OSFED, Body Dymorphia, Compulsive Exercise and general disordered eating. I take a body and weight inclusivity approach, and integrate both intuitive eating and body acceptance interventions.

I work collaboratively with other members of the ED treatment team to help support and empower clients in their recovery. Specializing in bulimia nervosa and athletes w/ eating disorders.

As a therapist I work with clients experiencing general concerns related to food and body: long term dieters, disordered eating and active eating disorders, as well as executive functioning and sensory related concerns related to how we feed ourselves. Maybe you aren’t sure if your relationship to food is “good” or “bad” but you do know it is something that causes you stress. You find you are spending too much time and emotional energy on food and body image thoughts.

Once you made the choice to begin living your life again and not use your eating or lack thereof to deal with your given problems, I can show you how to do that. I can also show you how to reconnect with the different parts of you to create a more harmonious balance between what happens in life and your reactions to it. I can help you connect to your body in a way that helps you feel more centered and grounded and less chaotic and anxious. You will get your life back

I completed a two-year training in the integrative treatment of eating disorders from the Institute of Contemporary Psychotherapy. I see eating disorders as multi-layered and use a holistic approach tailored to meet the unique needs of each person I work with.

I believe that everyone has the wisdom in them to recover and to live a full life. Our work together will revolve around guiding you back to the body trust you once had, so you can release any shame you may have around food, your body, and yourself. Together we will get to the root of and process the messages you learned about food and your body, unlearn the diet culture b.s, and create your unique path to healing.

Struggles with food and body are much more complex than thoughts of vanity. Many of my clients discuss feeling pressure to conform, being overwhelmed with stress, negative self-talk, confusion about what health looks like, and feeling out of control around food. We will address your concerns at the root and help you discover self-acceptance and food freedom.