Category Archives: Eating Disorders in Midlife

Must-Ask Questions When Looking For An Eating Disorder Therapist

Must-Ask Questions When Looking For An Eating Disorder Therapist

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Let’s face it, finding the right eating disorder therapist for your eating disorder can be daunting. It can feel downright overwhelming. You may be ambivalent about getting treatment. Maybe you are worried that your eating disorder isn’t “bad enough” to warrant treatment (trust me, it is). Or perhaps you are feeling hopeless about finding another therapist after being treated in the past.

Whether you are an individual with an eating disorder or a loved one of a person with an eating disorder, looking for a qualified therapist can be tough.

This post will give you tips on what to look for in a treatment provider, and questions to ask to help you determine the right eating disorder therapist for you.

Most therapists are willing to talk with you on the phone before you set an initial appointment. They will help assess goodness of fit in regards to scheduling, payment, and issues you may want to address in therapy.

If the therapist doesn’t offer a phone consultation, then these questions can be asked in the initial face-to-face appointment.

You can use the following questions and talking points when interviewing a potential therapist:

How do you help clients with eating disorders?

If a therapist has a lot of experience treating eating disorders, they should have a concise and clear answer. Many well-meaning therapists indicate on their website, referral site, or insurance websites that eating disorders are their specialty, but really don’t have experience treating eating disorders.

Because of the complex nature of eating disorders, try to get a therapist with extensive experience with eating disorders if possible.

Do you have a network of other professionals who have experience treating an eating disorder to whom you can refer me?

The gold standard of care in eating disorder treatment is to have a multidisciplinary team. An eating disorder treatment team usually consists of a therapist, registered dietitian, medical doctor, psychiatrist, family therapist, and possibly other specialists.

If the therapist has experience treating eating disorders, they should have a relationship with other treatment providers in your community. To learn more about eating disorder treatment teams click here.

What hours do you see clients and what are the payment options?

The course of eating disorder treatment can be long. Having a conversation up front with a potential eating disorder therapist about finances and scheduling is important. Be sure that the scheduling and payment options work for you over the longer -term.

Here are a few resources to help you find a qualified eating disorder therapist in your area:

Finding an eating disorder therapist can take time.  Consider breaking down your search into smaller pieces and chip away at it each day.

Additionally, if you feel overwhelmed trying to find an eating disorder therapist, ask a friend or family member to help you in your search.

Please call for a free 15-minute phone consultation to learn how I work with clients with eating disorders.

Don’t live in the Austin Area, but want tips about how to improve your relationship with food and your body? Subscribe to my newsletter here.

Must-Ask Questions When Looking For An Eating Disorder Therapist
Must-Ask Questions When Looking For An Eating Disorder Therapist


Eating disorders in midlife

Not Your Teens Eating Disorder: What you need to know about eating disorders in midlife.

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Unfortunately, eating disorders in midlife are on the rise.  Many eating disorders in adult women may go undiagnosed because of the mistaken belief that older women don’t develop eating disorders.   It is true that adolescent girls are at a higher risk, but women of all ages are at risk for developing and maintaining an eating disorder.

Adult women usually present with eating disorders in the three following ways:

  1. An eating disorder was developed earlier in their life. That is, as an adolescent or young adult the individual developed her eating disorder, but never fully recovered.  Adequate treatment, motivation to change, social & family support, etc. are all necessary for a full recovery.
  2. The second scenario is similar to the first, an eating disorder developed in adolescence or early adulthood and the individual fully recovered through treatment.  But, then in midlife, a relapse took place either in response to environmental, social, psychological and/or physical stressors and the eating disorder returned.
  3. In this last scenario, which is the least common, is that the onset of the eating disorder first occurred in midlife. That is to say, the individual had no pre-existing eating disorder. The most common type of eating disorder that starts in mid-life is binge eating disorder (click here to learn more about binge eating disorder).

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Dieting increases risk for an eating disorder

Why Dieting is Hazardous to your Health

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We are knee-deep in the diet culture.   Messages about what we should and shouldn’t eat are everywhere: social & print media, TV, on food labels and even well-meaning friends and family.

We forget that food is necessary to survive. Food is not optional. Dieting makes us think we can go without carbohydrates, fats or other food groups. But, we just can’t. Food and eating are not about willpower, it is about biology.

Dieting leads to food preoccupation

The most basic function of our brain is to keep us alive. When our basic needs are not being met, our bodies experience stress. Our brain sends us alerts to get us what we need. Most diets aren’t sufficient in energy (calories) or macronutrients (carbohydrates, protein & fat). Therefore, our brains alert us that we need to eat.
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Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2017

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Every year in late February the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA)  hosts eating disorder awareness week.  This year’s theme is “It’s Time to Talk About It”.

I love this theme as often people struggle for years with eating and exercise problems in silence.  Due to our crazy diet culture, it is hard to separate what is normative and what is an eating disorder.  Furthermore, there are a lot of people struggling with sub-clinical eating disorders or disordered eating.  Sub-clinic eating disorders mean that someone struggles with food issues, but doesn’t meet the criteria for a full-blown eating disorder.

Clinical eating disorder or disordered eating causes pain to the sufferer and those around them.   Therefore, the key is getting help & not suffer in silence.

NEDA is a great place to start they offer:

⇒Free and confidential on-line screening tools

⇒Confidential helpline

⇒Blog and videos from recovered individuals & clinicians

⇒And much, much more!

 

 

Get Off the Diet Roller Coaster, For Good!

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Chronic dieter?   Feel out of control with food?  Tired of weight cycling?  Feel guilty after eating “bad” foods?  Feel at war with your body?  Concerned about your health?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, I highly recommend reading and learning about Intuitive Eating developed by Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD and Elyse Resch, MS, RD, FADA.   

The first edition of Intuitive Eating was published in 1995.  For over 15 years, I have been using principles of Intuitive Eating with clients.  Recently, I trained with Evelyn Tribole, MS, RD to become a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor.  I am excited to share the ins & outs of Intuitive Eating & other tools, over my blog, webinars and in one-on-one sessions.

Intuitive Eating is an evidence-informed approach to making peace with food used by counselors, dietitians and eating disorder treatment centers across the country and worldwide.Continue reading→