Eating Disorder Therapy in Philadelphia, online in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and Vermont
Sound like you?
Struggling with feeling a loss of control around food
Tired of trying every new fad diet that is trending in hopes it will be the things that cures your body image
Ready to stop feeling guilt when nourishing yourself
Wishing that you could have a more joyful relationship with food and your body
You long to not obsess over your body, but it feels so out of reach
Eating Disorder Treatment can help you find freedom from the chains of diet culture
I work with clients to improve their relationship with food and their body through a Health at Every Size (HAES), Intuitive Eating/Anti-diet approach, dismantling messages internalized by diet culture and re-aligning with your values. Our body can be the doorway into the present moment and feelings of safety, pleasure, connection AND often before we can get to the embodiment that allows us to truly feel alive and present with those feelings, we have to grieve and process the life experiences that caused pain, disconnection, and a lack of safety (emotional, relational, physical). We can’t selectively numb emotions or sensations but when in genuine and safe connection with others (ie. the therapeutic relationship) we can learn to tolerate the discomfort of the scary ones and with that making space for more joy, resilience and trust in ourselves.
I have experience working at the partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient levels of care an eating disorder treatment center (treating anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, orthorexia, ARFID, and OSFED) in addition to outpatient. I use evidence based modalities to support clients in understanding the role the disordered eating has played for them, societal, environmental and interpersonal factors that maintain it, while challenging the unwanted behaviors and fostering new ways of relating to food and your body. I am happy to collaborate with dietitians and other members of your treatment team and provide referrals to supporting HAES clinicians when needed. I believe you don’t need to be diagnosed with an eating disorder to benefit from exploring your relationship with food and your body. In a society with strong anti-fat bias, fixation on appearance and self-objectification, it can be hard to feel connected and safe in your body.
I believe in building a connection to your body that is built on intuition, trust, flexibility, and compassion
What we’ll work on
Eating disorder therapy can help you find freedom from…
negative/critical thoughts about one’s body and self
rigidity and rules around food and exercise
preoccupations with “healthy eating”
binging, purging, restriction of food, compulsive exercise
withdrawal from loved ones
body checking behaviors such as weighing oneself, mirror checking etc
avoidance of body and food related events
body dysmorphia
struggling to take days off from exercise
fear, guilt, shame, and anxiety around eating
self-esteem struggles
black and white thinking
loneliness, isolation, irritability, and disconnection
lack of connection to one’s body
Together we will find freedom from…
Restriction of Food
While diet culture can often glorify the restriction of food, this can be a very dangerous and serious symptom of an eating disorder. It can look like decreasing portions, cutting out certain food groups (carbohydrates, fats, “processed foods”), having fear foods, struggling with eating in front of others, choosing “low calorie” or “diet” foods, withdrawing from social events or avoiding events with food, and labeling foods as good and bad. Mental restriction can also occur via food rules and rituals. Many individuals have worked to hide some of their forms of restriction or might even genuinely feel you are doing these things for “health” reasons. Please know you cannot look at someone and tell if they are restricting. All eating disorders including anorexia nervosa can occur in individuals of any body size. It is estimated that less than 6% of those with an eating disorder are underweight.
Binge Eating
Binge eating can be described by feeling a loss of control over one’s eating, eating large amounts of food quickly or in a short period of time and feeling an inability to stop eating even when full. These episodes of binge eating often occur in secret and can be fraught waves of shame and guilt afterwards and one might work to hide the evidence. While the binge eating is often the symptom that people seek to stop, there is often also restricting occurring exacerbating the binge eating. Binge eating disorder therapy involves exploring the function of the binging and identifying areas of restriction. You are not alone. While diet culture creates shame around this behavior, binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder.
Purging
Purging can be described as compensatory behaviors one engages in after eating whether a binge episode or regular food consumption such as self-induced vomiting, use of laxatives/diuretics, fasting or even intense exercise. These behaviors can be challenging to move away from due to the temporary relief one gets from engaging in them, but it is possible to find peace without feeling stuck in the cycle of guilt, shame and unwanted behaviors that can have serious side effects or health consequences.
Rigid or Compulsive Exercise
Whether you struggle to stray from a rigid exercise routine or feel like your movement has gone from enjoyable to feeling like a chore. If you feel the need to change what you eat based on whether you worked out that day or feel like you need to “burn off” what you ate, these can be signs of a disordered relationship with exercise and a symptoms of an eating disorder. You deserve to have a joyful relationship with movement. Together we will help you gain insight into these behaviors and challenge the rules around movement that makes
Body Image Distress
Do you obsess over your body? Feel like you can’t walk past a mirror without finding something to criticize about yourself or maybe you compare yourself to everyone around you? It is common for people who struggle with an eating disorder to also struggle with preoccupation around their body composition and appearance. We can’t acknowledge one’s body without addressing the society and systems we exist within that marginalize larger bodies and perpetuate anti-fat bias.
In our work together we will explore all your experiences and internalized messages that have created the disconnect and objectification of your body. It is possible to turn our focus from outward to tuning into the wisdom within our body. Therapy for body image will involve building respect and finding safety from within rather than our appearance.
My first priority is to build an authentic and safe therapeutic relationship as the foundation of our work
We will dive deep into the roots and possible causes of your disordered eating
Normalize and show compassion to the function the disordered eating has served/acknowledge the systems & culture you are existing in
Create attainable goals and explore barriers/blocks as they arise
Implement skills for cognitive and behavior change, emotion regulation, and mindfulness
Explore ambivalence and tap into motivators to tolerate distress in implementing behavior change strategies
Throughout all of our work we will be challenging internalized anti-fat bias and dismantling diet culture messages
Practice tuning into all the cues your body provides (yes your body has valuable information) and reconnecting to your intuition
Creating meaningful connections, boundaries, and supports to foster a life where your eating disorder is no longer serving a function
What will working with an eating disorder therapist be like:
I practice from a weight-inclusive Health at Every Size approach
What is Health At Every Size?
The Health At Every Size® Principles are:
-
People of all sizes, including those at the largest end of the size spectrum, have the right to healthcare without exception. Fat people’s access to compassionate & comprehensive healthcare should not depend on obtaining a certain BMI, pursuing weight loss, and/or holding health as a value or pursuit.
-
Because health exists on a continuum that varies with time and circumstance for each individual, Health at Every Size® aims to focus on wellbeing, care, and healing. These are resources from which we can all pull to meet our needs. And we get to have others pour those resources into us and vice versa. Community care and mutual aid is key. Health at Every Size® providers and advocates must work to promote and create the conditions that support wellbeing i.e. environmental care, clear air & water, equitable access to food, and more. Each person is the expert of their own body and should have the right to make autonomous decisions about their health and wellbeing, including how they value or prioritize health among all the other important aspects that make up a life.
-
Anti-fat bias, and fatphobia are detrimental to the health and wellbeing of all people, especially fat people. When health research, health policy, health education, and the provision of care does not include the full human size spectrum, it harms people of all sizes and is the antithesis to Health at Every Size®. Those who provide Health at Every Size®-aligned care must strive to dismantle anti-fat bias personally and systemically in order to provide care for all bodies.
-
How our society currently defines health is rooted in white supremacy, anti-Black racism, ableism, and healthism. As the values of our society become more rooted in collective liberation, we have the opportunity to critically examine and redefine health, disease, and illness. Regardless of the definition of health, however, access to care must never depend on an individual’s or community’s health status, pursuit of health, or compliance with health recommendations.
By approaching your relationship with food and your body through the lens guided by the principles above, we are able to understand that health is much more complex than your body size, shape, or labels asserted by diet culture on food we consume. Health is impacted by social variables like racism, classism, ablism, homophobia, fatphobia/weight stigma, and sexism. All bodies deserve respect, care and love.
Learn more at The Association for Size Diversity And Health
i know:
Going through life with an eating disorder is exhausting and consuming. It’s not your fault for struggling and together we will create lasting change.
If you would like to schedule a consultation call or discuss any questions you may have regarding eating disorder treatment, reach out via the contact form and I would love to connect further.
Eating Disorder and Disordered eating blog posts
In a world consumed by diet culture, disordered eating can silently infiltrate the lives of individuals, affecting their physical and emotional health. The earlier one can identify disordered eating, the quicker someone can gain insight into their behaviors, access support and prevent worsening of symptoms. Here are some things to look out for: