Eating Disorders
You don’t have to spend every day battling with food, calories, or your reflection.
If you feel stuck in a cycle of restriction, binging, or guilt around eating, you’re not alone - and it doesn’t have to stay this way.
Does this sound like you?
Preoccupation with food, calories, or exercise
Feeling guilty or ashamed after eating
Restrictive eating, bingeing, or cycles of both
Using food to cope with emotions or stress
You don’t need to be formally diagnosed with an eating disorder to engage in disordered eating.
Often, these behaviors are so normalized within our lives that we don’t recognize them as harmful or dangerous.
What Causes Disordered Eating?
There isn’t one single factor that causes someone to develop an eating disorder.
Eating disorders often develop from a mix of factors - family dynamics, trauma, perfectionism, and the pressures of diet culture. Many clients share that they’ve internalized messages from a young age about what they “should” look like or how much space they’re allowed to take up.
Over time, food and body control can become a way to cope with deeper feelings of anxiety, shame, or not feeling “enough.”
As I often say, “it’s not just about the food.”
That’s why it’s crucial to explore the thought patterns and beliefs that influence these patterns.
When we begin to unlearn toxic messages and develop intrinsic self-esteem, that’s when we can change our behaviors.
Types of Eating Disorders I Treat:
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Characterized by restricting food intake, intense fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body image.
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Involves cycles of binge eating followed by compensatory behaviors like purging, fasting, or excessive exercise.
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Repeated episodes of eating large amounts of food quickly, often in secret, and feeling out of control, without regular purging behaviors.
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A pattern of very limited eating, often due to sensory issues, lack of interest in food, or fear of aversive consequences (like choking or nausea).
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Symptoms that don’t neatly fit one category but still cause distress and deserve support.
How Can Therapy Help with Eating Disorders?
In therapy, we’ll create a safe, nonjudgmental space to explore your relationship with food and your body. I use approaches like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Internal Family Systems, and mindfulness to challenge rigid thought patterns, reconnect you with your body’s cues, and build healthier coping strategies.
Collaborative Care
Recovery from an eating disorder often works best with a team approach.
As your therapist, I’ll collaborate with nutritionists, dietitians, and other providers as needed to ensure you’re getting well-rounded support. I provide outpatient therapy only, so if a higher level of care is needed, I’ll help connect you with the right resources and walk alongside you through that transition.
My role is to support you in building emotional tools, addressing underlying struggles, and making therapy a safe place to process your healing journey - while making sure you have the right team around you.
Progress Might Look Like:
Feeling less preoccupied with food, calories, or your body throughout the day
Enjoying meals without guilt or anxiety
Trusting your body’s hunger and fullness cues
Expanding the variety of foods you feel comfortable eating
Coping with stress in healthier ways rather than relying on food behaviors
Having more energy and focus for the things you care about
“Donnie is one of the most genuine and empathetic people you will ever meet. She brings authenticity, acceptance, openness and warmth to her work in a way that creates space for clients to feel safe, seen and secure to heal.”
-Margie Lew, ID-LPC
