Find An Eating Disorder Therapist in Uxbridge, ON.

Our Registered Social Worker, Meghan Bird, RSW, has both formal training and clinical experience delivering Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT-E) for eating disorders and has a special interest in working with both youth and adults experiencing self-esteem and body image concerns. She also has training and experience in Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT), Emotion Focused Therapy (EFT), and Internal Family Systems (IFS), including the completion of a certificate in Trauma-focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT). In addition, she provides art- and play-based therapy for anxiety, depression, eating disorders, low self-esteem, complex trauma, suicidal ideation, and self-harm.

Disordered eating patterns are common in north America and, of course, they are still more prevalent among teen females and women than among teen males and men. Numerous factors contribute to the development and reoccurance of disordered eating patterns, including, negative body image, low self-esteem, stress and relationship struggles, intellectual and cognitive reasoning and media and social learning. Combining narrative, cognitive-behavioural individual and family therapy (in a collaborative teamwork approach among family, therapist and other healthcare providers) is the most effective strategy to reduce health risks through healthier relationship, exercise and eating thoughts and habits

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.

I have been working with eating disordered clients since working in a college setting over 30 yrs ago and I am still using a two-track approach: helping an individual change their behaviour and life-style on the one hand, and then walking with them through many of the underlying emotional and spiritual issues that drive the eating disorder on the other. Compulsive eating, anorexia and bulimia have a tight grip on so many women (and some men) but if you are one of them, I want to assure you that your future is not hopeless. I would be glad to help you get free from this. Call me today with any questions you may have regarding my experience and approach.

If you are reading this profile, you are probably concerned about yourself to the point that you want to seek help. You are likely to be "an emotional eater". You may have been battling with your weight and sense of self-image for a long period of time. You are constantly looking for a sense of control over the struggles on your feeling and your weight etc... With over 12 years of clinical experiences, I humbly and wholeheartedly want to support you in this battle. There are evident-based and effective therapeutic approaches to address your struggles. I offer integrative approaches to meet your needs. Please don't hesitate to reach out and start to get the help you need at this moment.

Winnie has walked with clients to understand their root cause of their binging and purging. It is not just the compulsion of binging. Your body and your emotional well-being are also strongly impacted by it. Being aware that you may have some symptoms of Eating Disorders is a giant step. With self awareness, you can learn about what is Eating Disorders, and learn different coping strategies to help yourself. You can make a change! You can break the cycle of binging and purging!

Eating disorders benefit from the same or similar approach used for all addictive behaviours. One of the main therapeutic approaches I use is Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. The relationship to food can be quite complex involving societal or cultural pressures, self-image, past traumas, addictive non-nutritious junk food, media images, social media pressures, bullying. Shame and guilt need to be addressed along with peer pressures. The most common eating disorders are: Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating, Pica, Rumination Disorder, Avoidance/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), Orthorexia, Purging Disorder etc. The benefits of therapy are enhanced self-image, health and well-being.

While counselling clients with eating disorders, it is often discovered that the cause is from childhood and relationship challenges. While I suggest you have a doctor and nutritionist on your team, sessions with me can include a safe place for you to share thoughts and feelings and explore coping strategies. Topics such as body image, self-esteem, anxiety and anger, and depression can be explored in sessions to help you understand yourself and your eating disorder in your unique circumstances.

Eating disorder recovery is a transformative journey towards a healthier relationship with food and yourself. Through a supportive and non-judgmental therapeutic process, we will work together to develop healthier habits, improve body image, explore emotional triggers, and restore your overall well-being. If you are on the path to eating disorders recovery, reach out today for a free consultation.

I work with your negative body image, from the inside out. "The negative image is understood as a dissociated and shame-based “part” of the personality in need of understanding and compassion, achieved via mindful awareness, “parts” dialogue and trauma processing. Our first step will be to create a healthy separation between the "observing" or aware Self and the part(s) absorbed in the eating disorder via mindful awareness. Once this separation between the "whole" self and part of self is established, the Gestalt polarity tradition (empty chairs) is utilized to develop understanding of the shame-based part. This leads to developing more love and compassion for yourself. You are enough!

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.

With the fast pace and challenges of life, you do not have to face them alone. Sometimes you need a helping hand and a friendly ear to talk to. It's my passion to help people. I offer counselling and psychotherapy for individuals, couples and families. I work with clients to improve their resiliency, and uncover their strengths using a client centered approach and different modalities to meet needs .

Shyamala's approach to working with eating disorders is to address the underlying issues that often perpetuate disordered eating: anxiety, perfectionism and a need for control. In helping clients build confidence and explore alternative ways of managing the underlying issues, clients are able to move towards a life that is no longer controlled by food and body image.

Dealing with an eating disorder is difficult, made all the more difficult if the people you love do not know how to support you through this time. Working with someone trained in treating eating disorders, you will feel understood in a way that you might not have thought possible. There is no reason why you should be going through this alone. Reach out to get the support that you need.

Eating Disorders are mental health challenges that manifest in the body, and in our relationships with food. Usually eating disorders start with an honest desire to be healthier, and lead into obsessions, compulsions and behaviour that end up dominating our lives. My belief is that eating disorders are an attempt to cope with stress, trauma and other difficulties and that they should be met with curiosity and compassion.

I offer individual counselling to support your efforts to lose weight based on the diet of your choice. Stress, depression, or anxiety due to hormonal changes, cravings or emotional difficulties may lead some individuals to overeat. Being overweight alters the functioning of the whole body plus may hurt emotionally as well. The psychological component of a successful weight loss is just as important as nutrition and exercise. Counselling supports you by identifying the emotional factors that affect your weight by rebalancing your lifestyle in a holistic way. We also work on improving your relationship with food, with your body and to learn to respond in a different and compassionate way.

“There are various ways that individuals with eating disorders describe “dealing with” painful feelings: They may numb them through starving, soothe or push them down with bingeing, or get rid of them through purging. This vicious cycle of fearing, avoiding, and feeling overwhelmed and incapacitated by feelings, to the point of having to stay ill or inflict self-harm to escape, makes Emotion-Focused Therapy a compelling approach to treating eating disorders. Emotion-Focused Therapy works directly with painful emotions, and views them as a source of information and meaning. Emotion, if paid attention to, can be like a beacon or a flashlight, leading us to what is important.