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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I use an eclectic approach to help individuals recover from disordered thoughts and patterns of behavior related to body image and eating. Eating disorders are caused by a multitude of factors and we will work together to re establish trust.

— Lauren Sharpe, Clinical Social Worker

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.

— Beth Holzhauer, Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Evanston, IL
 

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 Aurora, CO

As someone who's recovered from an eating disorder myself, I know that eating disorders can happen to otherwise totally normal people. In fact the research shows that the same things that make you a shining star in every other area of your like (being compassionate, tenacious, driven, strategic, disciplined, ect) make you more likely to develop an eating disorder. It's my passion to help people make peace with their bodies and fall in love with their life.

— Alyssa Williamson, Licensed Professional Counselor in Plano, TX
 

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.

— Zach Verwey, Licensed Professional Counselor in Denver, CO

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

— Yoni Banayan, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Las Vegas, NV
 

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.

— Andrea Rose, Licensed Professional Counselor in Austin, TX

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
 

I work with clients to heal their relationship to food and body. I believe in body neutrality and body liberation. In other words, I don’t think bodies need fixing — rather, they need healing from a society that makes them feel wrong for existing. I support clients through Health at Every Size, Body Trust, and Intuitive Eating frameworks.

— Paige Sparkman, Counselor in Grosse Pointe Park, MI

I have over 3 years of experience working with individuals diagnosed with an eating disorder and their support system/family members. I have experience in inpatient, partial hospitalization and outpatient. I am happy to incorporate exposure and response prevention in our therapy process!

— Jordan Suarez, Licensed Professional Counselor in Frisco, TX
 

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.

— Cassandra Walker, Counselor in ,

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 disorder behaviors.

— Zach Verwey, Licensed Professional Counselor in Denver, CO

I have practiced as a clinical therapist in inpatient, partial hospitalization and intensive outpatient eating disorder programs. In addition to my clinical work, I provided eating disorder consults throughout a hospital program to assist physicians in assessing, diagnosing and making recommendations for eating disorder treatment and follow up care.

— Christina Sun Oo, Psychotherapist in Arlington Heights, IL
 

I've been actively working with eating disorders since 2018. I have experience helping people with symptoms of food restriction, bulimia, and binge eating. I work from a Health At Every Size framework so that no matter where your ED is coming from, we'll start by meeting you where you are today. Whether you're brand new to the possibility of having an ED, or you need a hand in continuing the next step in your recovery, I'm here to help.

— Brian Jones, Licensed Mental Health Counselor in Seattle, WA

Are you wishing you had more peace with food, your body, yourself, and those people who are important in your life? We will work together collaboratively to help you discover who you are at your core, heal what hurts, and engage genuinely with your true self, your relationships and your life. Deep conversation, deep listening, and deep connection for your healing and transformation. Together we can work on lasting change.

— Sabrina Samedi, Associate Marriage & Family Therapist in Westlake Village, CA
 

I am a certified eating disorder specialist, trainer and educator

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

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

— Meghan FitzPatrick, Psychologist 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 Aurora, CO

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