Therapy for Eating Disorders
Are You Struggling With Your Relationship to Food or Your Body?
Do you notice most of your day is consumed with thoughts of how much you ate or what you will eat next?
Have you ever struggled to miss a workout even when you’re sick or injured?
Do you ever feel like you are addicted to certain foods and can’t stop eating them?
Do you ever struggle with the taste or texture of certain foods, or have little to no interest in it?
It is estimated that about 9% of the US population will suffer from an eating disorder in their lifetime [1] and that rates of eating disorders have doubled in the last 10 years. Eating disorders cross all social classes, race and genders. It has the second highest mortality rate of all mental health issues. Despite the stereotypes out there, eating disorders don’t have a look. What they do have in common is how much it takes over your life. If you’re finding that most of your day is consumed by thoughts of food, exercise, or your body it’s time to get help. Perhaps you’ve tried every diet and nothing seems to work. You just can’t get off the hamster wheel.
At Willow Shore Counseling, we take a Health At Every Size (HAES) and Intuitive Eating approach. We believe healing relationships with food requires letting go of food rules, more flexible eating, and saying goodbye to the “good/bad” mentality around food. The constant messages about food, weight and exercise are confusing. It’s no wonder disordered eating is on the rise! But don’t worry, our expert counselors know how to guide you in becoming more comfortable in your skin and getting back to peaceful eating.
Do You Have Questions About Eating Disorder Therapy?
Not All Eating Disorders Are the Same
At the root of most all eating disorders is some form of restriction but the behaviors can look different. The eating disorders we typically see in our office are Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge-Eating (BED) and Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID).
Anorexia Nervosa is typically a pattern of restricting food with the possibility of purging food either through exercise, laxatives or vomiting, fear of gaining weight and distorted self image.
Bulimia Nervosa is typically a pattern of eating large amounts of food in a short period of time, and then engaging in behaviors to purge the calories such as laxatives, exercise, and vomiting.
Binge-Eating is categorized by eating large amounts of food without engaging in ways to purge the calories.
ARFID is typically seen as limiting the amount or type of food eaten often due to sensory related issues, past trauma with food or a lack of interest in it. It does not start with distorted self-image but can lead to that over time.
It is not uncommon that your relationship to food or exercise shifts throughout the course of your eating disorder. Our highly skilled eating disorder therapists know how complicated and hard recovery can be, and can guide you to a more peaceful relationship to food and your body.
Eating Disorder Therapy Can Give You Freedom Back
We are firm believers in body neutrality and believe that healing your negative feelings toward your body is possible. Our belief is that all bodies are worthy of respect, deserve proper treatment by professionals, and that health doesn’t have a “size.” Anti-fat bias and body discrimination in our society is real. We strive to create safe spaces for all body sizes in our office. We will work with you to step off the scale, stop picking yourself apart in the mirror, and spend less time worrying about your pant size.
Move and Eat Flexibly
We want you to find joyful ways to move your body, letting go of the daily slog of tracking mileage, calories burned and exercising through the pain. Our eating disorder therapists don’t believe food or sugar is an addiction. Compulsions and/or overeating certain kinds of food is typically rooted in previous restriction, trauma, chronic dieting, food insecurity, morality around food and shame. We believe education and understanding of how the body works, what the research shows, and increasing self-compassion is a valuable tool in moving into recovery from an eating disorder. Our counselors believe ALL foods can be part of a healthy diet. We will NEVER ask you to give up your favorite ice cream!
Eating Disorder Treatment Requires a Team
Our clinicians work with other providers, including dietitians and doctors to ensure your treatment is successful. There are often physical complications that can arise with eating disorders so we know that therapy alone is not enough. We will strongly encourage you, and provide referrals, to get the proper medical and dietary support while we work with you on changing the way you feel about your body and food. The owner of our clinic is a Certified Eating Disorder Specialist-Consultant (CEDS-C) through the International Association of Eating Disorder Specialists (iaedp) and has done careful training with her employees to ensure our care is best practice, respectful and successful.
You Can Have a Flexible and Loving Relationship to Food and Your Body!
It can sometimes feel impossible to believe you can be free of your eating disorder. Whether you’ve struggled with this for 6 months or 20 years, we are specialized counselors who are passionate in helping you find relief.
What To Expect In Session
We typically encourage weekly sessions to begin, and take the time to understand your personal history with food and body image concerns. Our therapists know that your specific struggles with disordered eating will need interventions that make sense based on your history. We believe that good treatment requires a blend of education, skills, nutrition support and sitting with you in the hard.
You Don’t Like Feeling This Way, But You’re Scared to Change Things
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We get it. We don’t live in a society that celebrates changes in weight unless it is weight loss! Our therapists don’t minimize how hard it can be to start to increase food intake, and the very real fear of your body changing. We also know that you will continue to feel physically terrible if you don’t start taking care of your biological needs. Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge-Eating and ARFID all can destroy your physical and mental health. We will honor the fear, and give you skills and belief in yourself to get to the other side.
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It can be hard to believe that you might ever think or feel differently about your body or food. We work with you on your goals for recovery, and individualize treatment to what you want in life. Your goal might be to decrease the problematic physical symptoms, or to quit dieting for good. We don’t fire clients if they’re not ready to change, and we won’t force you to do something you’re not ready to do.
It’s Time to Feel Better
Eating disorders can leave you feeling tired, dizzy, foggy, and disconnected from yourself and others. The initial steps of treatment are scary, and sometimes you will feel worse before you feel better. We have dedicated years to helping others improve their physical and mental health. You truly can be free from the devastating impact of your eating disorder.
If you’re unsure if we can help with your type of eating or body image struggles, reach out for a consult and we are more than happy to chat. You deserve to live peacefully with your body and food, and we believe it is possible!
[1] https://anad.org/eating-disorder-statistic/
Therapy for Eating Disorders Lehi, UT
1220 N 500 W Suite 201,
Lehi, UT 84043
I did a brief interview on Thanksgiving and Eating Disorders.