Treatment

In our specialty clinic focused on eating disorders, one of the key advantages is the expertise of our certified licensed mental health providers. We employ a comprehensive approach to gather valuable observational data in a private practice setting, allowing for accurate diagnoses that can be challenging to achieve elsewhere. A correct diagnosis is essential; it forms the basis for effective treatment and leads to improved long-term outcomes.

Depressed teenager kid girl taking hand of adult woman

We Focus on Eating Disorders

At our specialty clinic focused on eating disorders, we offer a confidential setting that fosters recovery through supportive group experiences. Our program includes small group sessions led by individuals with lived experience in recovery, registered dietitians, and licensed mental health counselors. This combination ensures that clients receive comprehensive support tailored to their unique needs.

We are constantly researching and updating our knowledge and understanding of the complexities surrounding eating disorders, recognizing that they serve a distinct purpose for each individual we work with. We have extensive experience in addressing Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, Binge Eating Disorder, Orthorexia, ARFID, OSFED, Body Dysmorphia, Compulsive Exercise, and general disordered eating. Our approach is centered on body and weight inclusivity, incorporating both intuitive eating and body acceptance strategies.

We collaborate closely with our clients’ Registered Dietitians and Primary Care Physicians to ensure the most comprehensive and coordinated care possible. Additionally, we provide coaching for parents, partners, and siblings to help families understand how to best support their loved ones struggling with an eating disorder. In some cases, it may be essential for clients to seek a higher level of care before engaging in outpatient eating disorder therapy services.

Eating disorders can deeply affect not only the individuals who struggle with them but also their families and communities. These disorders often lead to feelings of isolation, shame, and anxiety, making it difficult for individuals to connect with loved ones. Many people with eating disorders experience a profound impact on their mental health, including depression and low self-esteem.

The social stigma surrounding eating disorders can further complicate recovery, as individuals may feel reluctant to seek help due to fear of judgment. However, with the right support and treatment, recovery is possible. Building awareness and fostering open conversations about eating disorders are essential steps in creating a supportive environment for those affected. If you or someone you know is struggling, reaching out for professional help can be the first step toward healing.

Eating Disorders We Treat

Eating disorders can profoundly affect individuals, with some experiencing occasional disordered eating behaviors while others may face severe, life-altering challenges. According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), around 30 million people in the U.S. will struggle with an eating disorder at some point in their lives, highlighting the urgency of awareness and treatment.

Contrary to the damaging stereotype that eating disorders solely afflict middle-class, white, teenage girls, these conditions affect individuals across all demographics. This misconception not only perpetuates harmful biases but also overlooks the struggles of millions who don’t fit this narrow profile. In reality, eating disorders know no boundaries; they impact people of all ages, racial backgrounds, gender identities, and sexual orientations, highlighting the need for a more inclusive understanding of these complex conditions. Men and individuals from minority groups are significantly less likely to seek and receive treatment. This disparity is largely due to societal stigmas that associate shame with the condition, preventing many from reaching out for the help they desperately need.

Many individuals with eating disorders do not exhibit the extreme physical characteristics often portrayed in the media. This stereotype hinders the recognition and diagnosis of eating disorders, underscoring the need for a more nuanced understanding.

Eating disorders arise from a complex mix of genetic predispositions and environmental factors. Studies indicate that while genetics play a role, external influences such as media portrayals of beauty, socioeconomic status, and family dynamics exert a more significant impact. These elements collectively contribute to the development and exacerbation of eating disorders.

Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa is a serious mental health condition with medical consequences that have the potential to become life-threatening. It has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness. It is not a choice. We understand the biological, psychological, and social contributing elements of this illness, and provide compassionate, holistic treatment.

Signs of Anorexia Nervosa include:

• Severe restriction of calories and fluids
• Following a severely limited diet
• Excessive or rapid weight loss
• Use of laxatives, diuretics, compulsive exercise, or vomiting
• Intense, frequent, and long periods of exercise
• Constant intrusive thoughts about weight and food
• Fear of eating in social situations
• Very specific eating behaviors, eating habits, and other rituals around eating, weight, exercise, and food preparation of meals and snacks
• Isolation from family and friends
• Lack of interest in relationships and activities
• Body hatred and body image distortion
• Intense fear gaining weight

These behaviors may look different from person to person, and throughout the life of the illness, behaviors will take different forms. It can also occur in individuals of all shapes and sizes, all genders, all races and ethnicities, and all levels of socioeconomic status. Someone suffering from anorexia may also go to great lengths to hide the severity of their illness. Keep in mind: no one can diagnose someone else simply by looking at them. This condition doesn’t always fit a stereotype.

Avoidant / Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)

At first glance, Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) may not look like a traditional eating disorder, but it involves serious difficulty with eating and food. People struggling with ARFID may have nutritional deficiencies, difficulty trying new foods, or report trouble with appetite and digestion. Along with these symptoms, there may also be concerns with quality of life, discomfort in social situations involving food, and an increase in feelings of anxiety and depression.

Often referred to as “extreme picky-eating”, ARFID is typically seen in children and adolescents, although it can continue into adulthood. Adult-onset of ARFID can also occur, particularly in relation to traumatic experiences with food, like choking, food poisoning or car sickness. ARFID commonly co-occurs with other diagnoses such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder.

Signs of ARFID include:

• Refusal to eat or a lack of appetite or interest in food not otherwise explained by a medical condition
• Limited range of foods that are deemed acceptable, sometimes delineated by food group, texture, color, or even brand
• Fear of an aversive consequence for eating, such as choking or an allergic reaction
• Difficulty eating meals with others and avoidance of social situations involving food
• Eating at a very slow pace
• Delayed growth, failure to gain weight or weight loss
Impaired psychosocial functioning due to rigidity around food

ARFID differs from picky eating in several ways. Developmentally, small children generally begin to outgrow picky-eating around age five and start showing more willingness to try new foods. ARFID symptoms, on the other hand, do not lessen with age and can lead to delayed growth, malnourishment, or reliance on supplementation. Also, picky eaters do not typically experience the lack of interest in food, lack of hunger cues, or psychosocial impairments that often come with an ARFID diagnosis.

While many ARFID symptoms seem similar to anorexia symptoms, ARFID does not include the drive for thinness or preoccupation with bodyweight or size associated with anorexia.

Binge Eating Disorder

Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States and can be diagnosed at any weight. However, it is treatable and you can experience a full recovery.

People with BED might consume large portions of food in a short timespan, despite a lack of hunger. Emotional stress or trauma can trigger an episode of binging, and these behaviors might provide a sense of relief in the short term, followed by regret or shame. BED, in these instances, is a means to manage anxiety and distress by utilizing food to numb painful emotions. Other notable characteristics include a feeling of loss of control while eating, and the absence of purging, excessive exercise, diuretic or laxative use that is required for a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa.

Signs of Binge Eating Disorder include:

• Eating past the point of fullness to the point of physical discomfort
• Eating at a rapid pace
• Eating in secret or hiding that food has been consumed
• Obsessive thinking or talking about food
• Intense focus on body weight, shape, and appearance
• Eating substantial portions of food or snacks even when not hungry
• Spending extraordinary amounts of money on food and groceries
• Stealing or hoarding food
• Distress and constant focus on body dissatisfaction and distorted image of self
• Ritualistic eating and exercise patterns

Often those suffering from BED have histories of repeated dieting, weight fluctuations, social stigma, isolation and loneliness.

Bulimia Nervosa

Bulimia Nervosa is a life-threatening illness characterized by cycles of binge eating followed by the use of compensatory behaviors, and has a high mortality rate due to the stress it causes on the heart and other organs. Due to the secrecy around bulimic behaviors and a limited understanding of what bulimia may “look like,” this disorder often goes undetected. Furthermore, nearly half of those suffering from bulimia will experience other mental health concerns such as mood or anxiety disorders. Among those struggling with bulimia, one in ten also struggles with a substance use disorder.

Signs of Bulimia Nervosa include:

• Uncontrolled eating outside of hunger
• A pattern of eating to the point of pain or far past fullness
• Vomiting or use of laxatives, diet pills, or diuretics
• Exercise to compensate for eating
• Intense, frequent, and long periods of exercise
• Hiding or hoarding food
• Fear of eating socially
• Distorted perception of body weight and shape
• Loss of interest in activities and relationships that were once meaningful
• Isolation and hopelessness
• Periods of starvation and severe calorie restriction

Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (OSFED)

Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorders (OSFED) is a clinical category that describes eating disorders that do not clearly meet the criteria for anorexia, bulimia, avoidant and restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), or binge eating disorder. While OSFED doesn’t clearly meet the criteria of more well-known eating disorders, OSFED is still a very common and serious diagnosis requiring treatment.

Examples of OSFED include atypical anorexia where the individual is not at very low body weight or experienced significant weight loss, bulimia where purging behaviors do not occur at a high frequency or duration, binge eating of low frequency or limited duration, purging disorder, or night eating syndrome. Additionally, this category can include individuals who are having difficulty with orthorexia or “clean eating” behaviors, eating disorders complicated by diabetes, or excessive or compulsive exercise.

Some similarities with other eating disorders may be present with concerns related to weight and shape, body image disturbances, and dieting and other worrisome food behaviors, and co-occurring anxiety, depression or substance use disorders.

Signs of OSFED include:

• Disturbance of eating habits
• Intense fear of weight gain
• Significant weight fluctuations or loss
• Preoccupation with food, calories, weight, or shape
• Compulsive exercising
• Purging with or without binge eating through self-induced vomiting, laxative or diuretic abuse, or compulsive exercising
• Skipping meals
• Impaired functioning of the immune system
• Distorted body image
• Obsession with only eating healthy or pure foods
• Shame related to body and eating
• Obsessive or compulsive exercising

It is important to note that this is not an exhaustive list and that conditions that are categorized under OSFED warrant a careful assessment and specialized treatment plan.

References: Reasons Eating Disorder Center 2024, Reasons Eating Disorder Website https://reasonsedc.com/

Services Disclaimer: The availability of services are on a per client basis, and are subject to medical/treatment necessity, insurance authorization, cost coverage, and availability. On that basis, some services may be delayed or unavailable. While we don’t provide medical or dietary services here, we happily collaborate with specialized providers and can offer guidance around when it might be helpful or necessary to seek additional support. Sometimes medical support is a necessary component of eating disorder treatment. If that seems to be the case, we will speak frankly with you about what we are thinking about and what some options might be to get additional care.

Therapies & Approaches

We are aligned with the principles of Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size, and offer education and support around integrating these principles in your recovery.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is a structured, time-limited therapy that focuses on identifying and changing negative thought patterns and behaviors associated with eating disorders. It helps clients develop healthier coping strategies and addresses issues like body image and distorted beliefs about food.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT combines cognitive-behavioral techniques with mindfulness practices to help individuals manage emotions and develop interpersonal skills. It is particularly effective for those who struggle with self-harm and intense emotional reactions, often seen in individuals with eating disorders.
Family-Based Therapy (FBT)
FBT, also known as the Maudsley Approach, involves the family in the treatment process, empowering them to support their loved one in regaining a healthy relationship with food and body image. This modality is especially effective for adolescents with anorexia nervosa and focuses on restoring weight and healthy eating patterns.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT encourages individuals to accept their thoughts and feelings rather than fight against them, while also committing to actions aligned with their values. This approach helps clients develop a healthier relationship with food and their bodies by fostering mindfulness and self-compassion.
Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)
IPT focuses on improving interpersonal relationships and communication patterns, which can significantly influence eating behaviors. By addressing social support and relationship dynamics, this therapy can help clients build a stronger foundation for recover

News & Articles

Five Questions To Ask Your Providers To Determine If They Are Specialists

September 28, 2024/in Educational/by Victus Counseling

Not every therapist / dietitian / medical provider is a good fit for every client. We all have different personalities, different styles and different specialties – and eating disorders are SUCH a specialty. Therapists / dietitians / medical providers with the best intentions can do more harm than good working outside their training and expertise. […]

You Don’t Have to be Thin to Have an Eating Disorder

July 15, 2024/in Educational, In the News/by Victus Counseling

The BMI is a screening for body fatness that is frequently used to identify a person’s risk of disease. However, The CDC now warns against using the BMI as a means of diagnosing body fatness or health. One place where the BMI screening may in fact be missing the mark, is when it comes to […]

Treatment

We Focus on Eating Disorders

Eating Disorders We Treat

Therapies & Approaches

News & Articles

Five Questions To Ask Your Providers To Determine If They Are Specialists

You Don’t Have to be Thin to Have an Eating Disorder

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