Orange County Eating Disorder Counseling
Recovering from an eating disorder involves much more than changing eating habits. It requires understanding the emotional experiences, beliefs, and coping patterns that contribute to the struggle. We provide Eating Disorder Counseling for clients throughout Orange County experiencing Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating Disorder, Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) or disordered eating. Together, we work toward developing a healthier relationship with food, your body, and yourself while supporting lasting emotional healing.
Read Video TranscriptWhat is an Eating Disorder?
Anorexia Nervosa
Anorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder commonly associated with weight loss, in some cases to dangerous levels. Suffers often have a distorted view of their body and have difficulty in maintaining a healthy weight. They will often restrict the types of food they eat and the number of calories they consume, they may also compulsively exercise and purge through vomiting or abusing laxatives.
Symptoms include;
- Intense fear of weight gain or being “fat”
- Extreme concern over their body weight and shape
- Feeling “fat” or over weight in spite of weight loss
- Refusal to maintain a body weight at or above normal levels for their age, body type and activity levels.
Atypical Anorexia
Atypical Anorexia is an eating disorder where individuals may engage in restrictive eating behaviors, have an intense fear of gaining weight, and experience a distorted body image, similar to anorexia nervosa. However, their weight is typically within the normal or overweight range. Suffers may develop medical complications through nutritional deficiencies.
Symptoms include;
- Restrictive eating often limiting their food intake to a few hundred calories a day
- Intense fear of weight gain or being “fat”
- Skipping meals or avoiding eating in front of others
Bulimia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder where sufferers binge eat large amounts of food in short periods of time, sometimes secretly and then get rid of the food, usually through vomiting or abusing laxatives.
Symptoms include;
- Recurrent episodes of binge eating
- Feelings of having no control over food consumption during a binge
- Extreme concern with body weight and shape
Binge Eating Disorder
Binge Eating Disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States and involves recurring episodes of eating large amounts of food in a short period of time without purging behaviors. Binge episodes often include eating to the point of physical discomfort along with feelings of guilt and shame, and are best understood within the context of binge eating patterns and the emotional experiences that drive them.
Symptoms include;
- A lack of control over food consumption
- Distress, guilt or shame over eating habits
- Fast eating, eat alone, eating when not hungry, eating until uncomfortably full
Orthorexia Nervosa
Orthorexia Nervosa is an eating disorder where sufferers develop an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating, often categorizing food in strict good or bad categories. Sufferers will go to great lengths to avoid food they consider bad even to the detriment of their health and quality of life.
Symptoms include;
- Severely reducing the foods you eat due to them not meeting your health requirements
- Obsessive thoughts on how food will effect medical conditions
- Requiring significant amounts of supplements to make up for nutritional shortfalls in your diet.
- Strong emotional reactions to food.
ARFID
Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) is an eating disorder characterized by a persistent lack of interest in food, an avoidance or restriction of certain foods, or a fear of the consequences of eating. Often it is found in children who refuse to eat certain tastes or textures of food. Suffers may develop medical complications through nutritional deficiencies.
Symptoms include;
- Obsessive or rigid thinking about foods leading to an inflexible diet
- Difficulty eating in social situations
- Nutritional deficiencies due to lack of dietary variety
Do You Have An Eating Disorder?
- Are you hiding your calorie restriction, laxative abuse or bingeing and purging from the ones you love?
- Is stress from your relationship, family or career making it difficult to eat?
- Do you loath the person you see in the mirror and desperately want to change, but aren’t sure how to make a positive transformation?
If you’re suffering from an eating disorder, you might be repulsed by the image you see in the mirror and feel constantly bombarded by disgust, self-loathing and shame. In order to control your body size, perhaps you’ve developed a rigid routine that has become a kind of ritualistic habit. You might get up at 4 or 5 in the morning to workout before going to your job. While at the office, you may obsessively scrutinize the day’s food intake or find additional ways to expend calories while working, such as walking up the stairs or going to the gym during your lunch break. Your relationships are probably suffering also. Perhaps you worry that you’re unlovable and desperately cling to your partner out of a longing for reassurance. However, this is only likely to push your partner away.
When you aren’t fasting, you might binge and purge instead. Perhaps you diet all day long but lose your resolve and overeat, causing you to feel guilty and eventually purge. Perhaps you think that reaching a magic number on the scale will offer you the confidence needed to go after the career you want and/or cultivate the healthy, fulfilling relationship you’ve always dreamed of. However, the further you fall down the rabbit hole of your eating disorder, the more your dreams may seem out of reach, understanding what causes your eating disorder is the first step to recovery.
Does Your Teen Have An Eating Disorder?
- Are you worried about your teen’s excessive dieting, exercise or weight loss?
- Does your teen seem obsessed with fitting in at school or having the perfect body?
- Does your teen claim to be fat even when provided evidence to the contrary?
- Are you worried that your teen’s weight loss is causing irreversible physical and emotional harm and desperately want to find help?
Recently you may have observed disturbing behavior from your teen that has caused you to wonder whether your teen might have an eating disorder. Your teen might be acting withdrawn, perhaps refusing to speak to you or spending hours alone in the bedroom. What’s more, your teen might be struggling with social anxiety and self-esteem issues and seem desperate to fit in at school. Your teen may get easily frustrated when trying on clothes, complain about being fat or even burst into tears in front of the mirror. Other signs of eating disorders can include frequent unfinished meals, refusal to eat certain foods or dishonesty about skipping lunch at school. In addition, you might have noticed increased anxiety or depression, an unhealthy, sickly appearance or an irregular menstrual cycle.
As a parent, you would probably do any thing for your children and desperately want to provide them with the best possible future. However, if an eating disorder is slowly wasting away your teen, you may feel powerless to help.
Causes of Eating Disorders
While it’s common to feel shame and guilt about an eating disorder, it’s important to understand that your issues with body image and food may be due to circumstances beyond your control. Eating disorders can be caused by genetics and family history, as well as cultural and societal norms.
In our contemporary world, the media constantly bombards us with images that elevate impossible standards of beauty. We are told that our bodies must look a certain way in order to be valuable and important. Teens are especially vulnerable to this way of thinking, which can cause them to become ashamed of their bodies. Thankfully, with the support and guidance of a professional therapist it’s possible to break free from these negative cultural messages and find true, meaningful self-worth.
How does Eating Disorder counseling work?
Eating disorder counseling can be very effective for individuals suffering from anorexia or bulimia. Based in Laguna Hills, California, I am Certified Eating Disorder Specialist and a member of the International Association of Eating Disorder Professionals, I have the tools, skills and expertise necessary to help you or your teen navigate the road to recovery.
In eating disorder counseling, we’ll identify, explore and address the underlying issues that are driving you or your teen to fast, binge or purge. This can include body image issues, problems with self-esteem or even family history and childhood trauma. During treatment we’ll take a collaborative approach, perhaps reaching out to nutritionists or treatment programs in order to tackle the eating disorder from multiple fronts. If depression or anxiety is a problem, we can also work with a psychiatrist, who may be able to prescribe medication to help alleviate symptoms.
If you’re an adult struggling with an eating disorder, counseling can help you to begin feeling better about yourself and adopt new copings skills. You can stop turning to dieting and purging every time you feel stressed, insecure or inadequate. Instead, you can begin developing new ways of cultivating calm and balance in your life and rely upon activities like art, music and deep breathing to promote feelings of well being. You’ll also have the opportunity to use movement therapy to express your frustration and pain and become more aware of your body. The goal is for you to develop a healthier relationship with your body and come to see it as something worth preserving, rather than an object of shame.
For teens, we’ll use many of the same strategies mentioned above. In addition, I use psycho-education to help teens become better informed about the physical and developmental consequences of excessive dieting and exercise. As your teen’s therapist, I’ll encourage your teen to honor his or her strengths and to look toward innate gifts for a sense of self worth. My hope for all my clients is that they will come to see they are more than just a number on a scale. With the help of eating disorder counseling, you or your teen can restore self-esteem and no longer fear the reflection staring back at you in the mirror.
Make Peace with Food & Love Your Body
For people who have tried the diets and rules and want something that actually lasts.
- Thursdays from 6pm - 7pm
- Starting September 17th for 8 weeks
- Adults (18+)
- $50 per session, United Healthcare accepted
Seek Help with an Eating Disorder
If you are ready to seek help with dealing with an eating disorder for you or a loved one please call (949) 215-0612 to make an appointment at my therapy office in Laguna Hills, Orange County or book online.
You can find more information about eating disorders in the eating disorder section of the mental health articles.
Book AppointmentCommon questions and concerns regarding Eating Disorder Counseling
I’m afraid I’ll be hospitalized by the therapist.
During our sessions together, you’ll never be forced to do anything you don’t want to do. If I feel that an inpatient treatment program would be helpful to you, I’ll provide referrals. However, the decision will ultimately be yours.
I don’t think eating disorder counseling will work.
If you are motivated and willing to do the work, you can make great achievements through therapy. However, if I’m not the right therapist for you or I use modalities that aren’t in line with your needs, personality or goals, I’d be happy to refer you to another professional. I aim to help you move through your eating disorder safely, whether with me or another therapist.
I’m worried my teen won’t come to therapy or participate in sessions.
During the first session, I’ll interview you and assess your teen’s situation, if applicable. Even if your teen refuses to fully participate, I’ll still be able to provide you with some insight and can refer you to a treatment center if I feel there is an emergency. I’ll also offer your teen different modalities to work with, such as art, dance movement therapy and music, which can help him or her feel more comfortable with the therapy process.
