Body Image & Eating Disorder Therapy
Have you ever felt unworthy of taking up space?
We live in a culture obsessed with physical appearance, which can make it difficult to feel worthy of existing in our unique and ever-changing bodies. It can feel even more challenging to embrace body diversity if we come from families or settings that assert norms and preferences related to dieting, body size, skin tone, facial features, hair texture, or other physical characteristics.
If you’ve ever found yourself scrutinizing your body or receiving unsolicited feedback about your physical appearance, you are not alone. Experiences of fatphobia, sizeism, colorism, and texturism are oppressive and harmful, and you deserve a space to explore your relationship to your body as you would like to define it.
In the U.S., 9% of the population with body image concerns will go on to experience an eating disorder during their lifetime, though rates may be underreported due to the shame that individuals with disordered eating concerns often combat.
Eating disorders can affect anyone, and they are often underdiagnosed in people of color, transgender and gender expansive folks, people in larger bodies, poor and working-class individuals, and men. Those who have been underrepresented in eating disorder research or treatment spaces may understandably fear that their providers won’t understand their lived experiences and needs, and they may choose not to seek out potentially harmful care. Other times, these individuals may struggle with a sense that they are not “sick enough” or worthy of eating disorder treatment. Whatever your experience, you deserve uniquely tailored and affirming therapeutic care.
You have a right to take up space in the world.
Bodies are powerful – they help us function and move through our world.
If you are someone struggling with body image or disordered eating patterns, you deserve patience and understanding. Perhaps you have found ways of coping that seem to temporarily alleviate body dissatisfaction, such as adhering to an exercise schedule, engaging in body checking or self-surveillance behaviors, or shifting your appearance in an effort to blend in with your peers. Our relationship to food can also signal cues about our desire for more control than we perceive we have, or it can be a way of acquiring comfort we can depend on when other sources of emotional or physical nourishment are scarce. Often, these patterns emerge to help us get through difficult relational or traumatic experiences, and our work will likely center understanding those roots.
When relevant, I take an interdisciplinary approach to providing therapy for body image and disordered eating concerns, meaning I may encourage collaborating with you to find a care team comprised of a dietician and primary care physician. As a Health at Every Size (HAES) aligned psychologist, I believe all bodies deserve unconditional respect and equitable access to care. With that in mind (and with your permission), I’ll occasionally consult with your care team to ensure you are receiving holistic, effective treatment.
I also want you to know that I integrate a harm reduction lens in therapy for body image and eating disorder concerns, which empowers your decision-making around coping and treatment options. This means you can expect not to be labeled as non-compliant or treatment resistant for engaging in eating or coping behaviors that honor your body wisdom. Together, we will work to understand the function of these dynamics in a compassionate, non-pathologizing way. As you feel safe, you can begin to restore a nourishing relationship with your body.
