Eating Disorders

I have expertise in disordered eating, body image and self esteem, particularly binge eating, body dysmorphia, restricting and over-exercise. Our work is a mix of understanding and modifying behaviors while also exploring the personal, family, social and cultural influences that contributed to their development.

I have experience working at all levels of care with eating disorders, including inpatient work. I utilize a combination of approaches including CBT, DBT, mindfulness, and creative therapies to address difficulty around food, body image, and societal influence on diet/exercise culture.

At The Couch Therapy, we are a therapy practice that offers health at every size (HAES) therapy for eating disorders or disordered eating. We believe in a gentle approach to helping those struggling with disordered eating. When working with a HAES aligned therapist, you can expect to sit in a safe space to process the timeline of your relationship with food, process significant moments in life that influenced your beliefs, and remind you to release the petri dish of shame you’ve been holding.

I have a history of working with clients with eating disorders, and find that body positivity is an integral part of any body belief.

Alyson is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist-supervisor. She has been working in the eating disorder field for over 15 years and has experience working at higher levels of care as well as outpatient therapy. Alyson takes a compassionate approach to treating eating disorders which integrates client-centered therapy and evidence based practices.

At The Couch Therapy, we are a therapy practice that offers health at every size (HAES) therapy for eating disorders or disordered eating. We believe in a gentle approach to helping those struggling with disordered eating. When working with a HAES aligned therapist, you can expect to sit in a safe space to process the timeline of your relationship with food, process significant moments in life that influenced your beliefs, and remind you to release the petri dish of shame you’ve been holding.

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.

It may feel like the eating disorder is taking over your life. Maybe you’re stuck in shame and patterns you know aren’t serving you. You want to reclaim your life and work through the underlying issues that impact your relationship to food & body. I approach issues around food & body from a trauma-informed, intersectional, and HAES (Health at Every Size) lens. I'm passionate about helping you reconnect with joy around food & cooking, finding neutrality & joy in your body.

I shifted from work in Clinical Nutrition in the acute care setting to Psychotherapy when I knew I wanted to treat Eating Disorders. The miracle of recovery that I experienced in a relatively short time, inspired me to learn how that came to be. Anorexia, Bulimia, and Compulsive Overeating are issuer related to Anxiety, Depression, and Trauma; they result in medical issues related to nutrition- so this expertise is essential as well.

In therapy our overall goal will be to help you make peace with food and normalize your eating patterns. We will begin by assessing the nature of your struggles and collaborate on a plan for treatment that feels right for you. This plan may include changing negative thought patterns as well as processing any issues that might underlie the eating disorder. Whatever your needs are, we will address them with care.

I follow the Health at Every Size (HAES) model and utilize intuitive eating tools to help people reconnect with their bodies and take care of themselves in whatever way is most life giving for them.

I have worked with clients in treatment for eating disorders in an inpatient hospital, IOP, PHP and Group Residential home settings, in addition to years in private practice. I currently work with clients who are actively working towards recovery or are who maintaining recovery and diving deeper into the meaning of their journey. My clients come to me with histories of anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, & ongoing body image concerns (always from a HAES lens).

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).

I come from a Health at Every Size approach and believe intuitive eating for long term recovery. I take a team approach in working with a registered dietician as well as your primary care doctor to best support all aspects of recovery.

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.

We treat issues relating to ARFID, binge eating disorder, bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and night eating syndrome. Dr. Sala is trained in Family Based Treatment for children/adolescents with eating disorders. We also treat eating disorders using Dr. Fairburn's Enhanced Cognitive Behavioral Treatment.

I specialize in treating eating disorders, employing a collaborative approach by closely working with medical doctors and registered dietitians to provide comprehensive care. As a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, I anchor my approach to addressing disordered eating behaviors, helping clients reconnect with their intuitive relationship with food. I am committed to incorporating discussions of privilege, socio-economic class, and trauma to provide a culturally sensitive treatment experience.

Early relational trauma: loneliness, unreliable caregivers, abuse, abandonment, shaming, -can result in lifelong patterns of disordered eating and substance abuse. Bulimic binging, Anorexic restricting, or using an addictive “drug of choice” fills-in for an insecure attachment until we break the pattern. We work to find the “right fit” in Relational Therapy, Archetypal Analysis, Psychoanalysis, Brainspotting, -re-connecting to the Soulful identity you were meant to be!