Eating Disorder Psychotherapy

Eating disorders have serious consequences.

People with eating disorders are preoccupied with how they look and foods in general.

Some people binge, such as eating even though they are not hungry. Bulimia is an eating disorder involving eating large amounts of food followed by vomiting or using laxatives to purge oneself.

Anorexia involves behaviors to avoid weight gain because of the fear of not having the right body image. These behaviors may include the use of eating restrictions to prevent weight gain.

Generally, eating disorders are severe and can result in life-threatening situations.

Hospital admission did not solve Rita’s* problem.

“If I can’t be a perfect person, then I will be a perfect corpse,” said Rita, a single 19-year-old female experiencing anorexia nervosa.

At 64 lbs. (approximately 54 lbs. underweight), Rita’s doctor admitted her to a mental health center inpatient unit.

Rita had liver, kidney, and pancreas damage and stayed in the hospital for 65 days. At discharge, Rita’s weight had stabilized at 104.5 lbs. Before release, Rita agreed that if her weight dropped below 100 lbs., she would return for readmission.

Rita sought a better solution through therapy.

As Rita began therapy with me, she was unequivocal on two things: she didn’t want to go back to the hospital, and she wanted to explore what lay beneath her symptoms. Rita felt that she and her healthcare providers had not prioritized and investigated other parts of herself. It was time to stop focusing so much on what Rita was eating and instead start focusing on what was eating Rita.

Treatment consisted of psycho-dynamic and supportive psychotherapy and involvement in outpatient therapy to support our work together. The team included a nutritionist, a psychiatrist, and her primary care doctor. Once in place, the team used a three-pronged approach.

As the therapist, I focused on helping Rita identify the causes of her eating problem and helped her feel more positive about eating. I helped her understand how to cope more and realize the consequences of not eating correctly. The nutritionist provided advice on how to eat healthily and gave her dietary supplements, while the physician prescribed some antidepressants to help ease the symptoms that caused her eating disorder.

Rita gained weight, ceased fluctuating between weight gain and loss, and learned to control the urges that created her anorexia.

Be like Rita and seek help.

Don’t continue to struggle with your eating disorder. Your health and mental well-being are at stake.

Let’s work together to help you overcome your eating problem. I want to help organize an approach to help you overcome your eating problem.

Contact me today!

*Name and story are composite narratives and do not reflect an actual client.