Find An Eating Disorder Therapist in Essex, ON.

I help clients overcome addictive relationships with food. Like all addictions, the behavior is the tip of the iceberg, used to cope with underlying thoughts and emotions. Through collaborative conversations, clients gain insight into underlying concerns, gaining coping skills to more effectively navigate these issues. I draw on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Motivational Interviewing (MI), helping clients achieve a sense of freedom and control over their lives, leading to long-term change.

Eating disorder can overshadow your life, stealing the joy and self-respect. I have worked with many who struggled with eating disorders and disordered eating and yes, it is possible to fight it and move beyond it. In the therapy with me you become aware of your strengths, your limitations and areas that need strengthening. You discover you are not alone and let the guilt and shame sweep away and become stronger. You learn how to create healthier boundaries, recognize triggers and become emotionally and mentally stronger.

Issues with eating are an understandable reaction to difficult or traumatic circumstances. The word disorder is faulty as it implies that it is a single person's disorder. However, the disorder is one of society. Due to limitations and restrictions of society, institutions, media, and groups, we have learned to restrict and or indulge ourselves in food. It is my goal to explore the emotional and cognitive roots of your issues with food as well as to figure out just how these limitations and restrictions of our society and/or families have affected you. In discovering the roots of the struggle, we can then collaboratively work towards health and healing.

At Atlas Therapy, we understand the intricate nature of eating disorders. Our approach revolves around the biopsychosocial model, carefully considering the interplay of biological, cognitive, and environmental factors. With utmost compassion, we meet our clients where they are in their journey, supporting their progress at a pace that fosters both health and happiness.

I can support you when dealing with emotional and disordered eating and help you with behavioural changes towards healthy eating patterns, including shifting from shame to empowerment, calming the nervous system, regulating emotions without turning to food, and assisting you in reestablishing physical cues for fullness and hunger and replacing the inner critic with self-compassion. Trauma-informed clinical tools will help you improve your relationship with food and your body.

EMDR Therapy has been shown to be very effective when treating an individual who is struggling with an eating disorder. With eating disorders, often there can be underlying reasons and experiences which need to be processed. Expressive Art is another great way for people to work through unprocessed emotions. Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy teaches people how to look at how our beliefs and thoughts are linked with behaviour, and what we can do to change behaviour.

I have worked with clients who have presented with troubled eating behaviours and body dysmorphia. My competency in this specialization is in supporting clients during the very early stages of the development of eating disorders where they struggle with their bodies and eating, but have not fully developed (diagnostically) an eating disorder. I have also helped clients who are in remission and recovery of eating disorders. However, the scope of my practice is limited to my competencies and I am not able to help clients who are actively struggling with an eating disorder (diagnosed) because in those cases a holistic team of medical practitioners should be involved to ensure safety.

Emotional eating can stem from social expectations, family of origin rituals and gatherings, and negative self-talk. Emotional eating can lead to weight gain and health concerns. I use CBT, DBT and ACT to help clients learn to recognize emotional triggers that lead to eating behaviors when not physically hungry. I also help clients develop techniques to mindfully eat, resist temptation and learn to recognize when emotions are pulling at your puppet strings.

Eating disorders can have a profound impact on both physical and emotional health. I offer a compassionate and evidence-based approach to help you address and overcome these challenges. Using techniques such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and mindfulness, we work on understanding the underlying causes of your eating disorder, developing healthier eating habits, and improving body image. My goal is to support you in finding balance and building a positive relationship with food and your body. Contact me to schedule a free 15-minute consultation to start working towards recovery and well-being.

While I do not offer support for eating disorders, at Psychotherapy Collective, we have other therapists who are well positioned to support you. Eating disorders are not really about food. They involve complex emotional issues that have significant impact on ones physical, emotional and social health. If you are preoccupied with your weight, focused on body image, size, or shape, compelled to perform specific rituals around food, obsessive about food, or deem foods as “safe” or “unsafe” to eat you may be engaging in disordered eating. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation with a member of our team today https://www.psychotherapycollective.ca/our-team