What is it? Who gets it? Will it help? Those are all questions you should be thinking! If you found yourself here you have either had therapy before or you believe that there is a chance it might be able to offer some help for what you are struggling with. You are tired of doing it alone because, let's face it, that just plain stinks. So, let's talk about a few things.
Let's start with what therapy for an eating disorder is not. Therapy does not mean you are broken. Therapy does not mean you are weak. Therapy means you are hurting. Eating disorder therapy means you aren't functioning in a capacity that is working for your life and you are strong enough to know when you aren't a mechanic and need to get your engine in for a tune-up.
At some point even the most useful coping tools can become a hindrance. If I had known all of the things I was going to lose during my eating disorder, I might not have been so quick to sign up. I was promised comfort, not isolation. I was promised relief from my feelings, not a full time war with guilt and shame. I was promised praise, not judgement and misunderstanding. I was promised unconditional love, not to be controlled. I was promised a friend, not something that demanded all of my time. I was promised things that came with high taxes.
Through eating disorder therapy, I hope to help you establish your sense of self again, or maybe you didn't have a chance to develop one yet and you need the starter kit. It's also okay if you have no idea what I just said! We each have a pie chart to our life. An eating disorder robs you of the slices of your life one piece at a time. I want to help you get them back. It's a long, tedious process- put on your hard hat.
Somewhere back there you had hopes and dreams and ideas and joy. Maybe it got robbed from you back when you were five. Some people it leaves in junior high. For others it goes away in college or in transitioning into a young adult. Geez, that's scary! Your dependence on your eating disorder grew and grew while you shrunk away or got buried down deep underneath all the layers. That's where I come in. That's the journey of therapy.
Let's start with what therapy for an eating disorder is not. Therapy does not mean you are broken. Therapy does not mean you are weak. Therapy means you are hurting. Eating disorder therapy means you aren't functioning in a capacity that is working for your life and you are strong enough to know when you aren't a mechanic and need to get your engine in for a tune-up.
At some point even the most useful coping tools can become a hindrance. If I had known all of the things I was going to lose during my eating disorder, I might not have been so quick to sign up. I was promised comfort, not isolation. I was promised relief from my feelings, not a full time war with guilt and shame. I was promised praise, not judgement and misunderstanding. I was promised unconditional love, not to be controlled. I was promised a friend, not something that demanded all of my time. I was promised things that came with high taxes.
Through eating disorder therapy, I hope to help you establish your sense of self again, or maybe you didn't have a chance to develop one yet and you need the starter kit. It's also okay if you have no idea what I just said! We each have a pie chart to our life. An eating disorder robs you of the slices of your life one piece at a time. I want to help you get them back. It's a long, tedious process- put on your hard hat.
Somewhere back there you had hopes and dreams and ideas and joy. Maybe it got robbed from you back when you were five. Some people it leaves in junior high. For others it goes away in college or in transitioning into a young adult. Geez, that's scary! Your dependence on your eating disorder grew and grew while you shrunk away or got buried down deep underneath all the layers. That's where I come in. That's the journey of therapy.
