The Eating Disorder Therapist

A Journey through Therapy in Eating Disorder Recovery

So how do you treat eating disorders? Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions and sadly there is no wonder cure that can fix them. What works effectively for one person may be very different for another.

In this episode, I talk to you about some of the ways that I work with my clients. I describe myself as an integrative counsellor, meaning that I am not wedded to any one approach rather using different therapies, which I have found to be particularly helpful for treating eating disorders (Motivational Enhancement Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, MANTRA and Cognitive Analytic Therapy). I firmly believe in the therapeutic relationship being the corner-stone for healing. I also believe in being flexible and tailoring work to suit a client’s personal journey. Sometimes, this may involve a talking therapy with more insight and self-reflection, whilst at other times it may mean utilising tools and practical strategies, or a combination of the two.

The different areas I focus on in therapy (not limited to) in this episode: -

1. Working on motivation for change, as people often feel ambivalent.
2. Understanding why you may have developed an eating disorder.
3. Getting clear on values and diluting the link between self-worth and weight.
4. Developing a healthier relationship with food with regular eating and a range of foods.
5. Becoming more food neutral
6. Dealing with emotions and developing healthy coping mechanisms.
7. Developing awareness and insight into your thoughts and thinking patterns.
8. Developing self-compassion and a healthy body image
9. Boosting self-esteem and self-worth.
10. Managing inevitable relapses.

Remember, it is possible to change and to recover from an eating disorder. The road will not always be smooth and there will be many inevitable bumps on this journey. However, it is worth taking the courageous step to reach out and get help. It’s also worth trying different avenues alongside including in engaging in self-help, reading recovery blogs and helpful social media, and taking a holistic approach. Recovery is possible. Hold onto hope.

The Psychology of Eating Disorders - Exploring What‘s Underneath

As a therapist, I love supporting clients to explore their story and to make sense of their eating disorder. It's not always an easy job, as eating disorders are complicated and there is no one cause.  It can feel as if they are all about food, however, they are a complex interplay of genetics, environment, family life, stressors and triggers. In supporting a client with change, it can be a valuable process to piece together the different parts of the jigsaw to begin to make sense of all the different parts. Through this process, someone can begin to understand why they have developed an eating disorder; possible triggers and the perpetuating factors that keep them stuck in destructive cycles.

In this episode, I talk about three ways that eating disorders help people cope (albeit short-term). Of course, longer term, they bring about many more problems. If you are struggling with an eating disorder, I hope this will help you question and explore your own psychology to begin to make better sense of what's going on. If you're a carer, it will offer you an insight into why your loved one may be doing what they're doing, which can provide a starting point for better understanding and compassion.

I hope that you enjoy the episode.

Eating Disorder Recovery, Orthorexia, Post-Pregnancy Bodies and Core Beliefs, with Dr. Lara Zibarras

Today I’m talking to Dr. Lara Zibarras – chartered occupational psychologist and food freedom coach. Lara’s background is in academic psychology, where she has worked for City, University of London running a successful postgraduate psychology course. Throughout her career, Lara’s passion has been helping people succeed in both work and life. Through her work as an associate professor in organisational psychology she has explored ways to improve people's working lives and feel more fulfilled in their roles. But today, she primarily works as a Nutrition and Wellness Coach, running her own online health and wellness business – Health Mindset Matters. Lara combines her background in psychology and nutrition to support people to create mindset shifts and heal their relationship with food and body image.

Lara came to work in this field, after years of intensive dieting and then developing an eating disorder. However, she has fully recovered and got her life back on track, when discovering the power of working on her mindset. Lara’s mission today is to help people create a positive relationship with food and work on their body acceptance. In this episode, we talk about Lara’s journey in healing from bulimia and later orthorexia. Lara talks about post pregnancy and the pressure to regain your pre-pregnancy body. We explore the factors that helped her heal and claim food freedom, particularly supported with nutrition. We delve into the mindset work that Lara found to be incredibly helpful on her journey and understanding the impact of core beliefs, thinking styles and habits to further understand how she supports her clients today. I hope that you enjoy the episode!  

To find out more about Dr. Lara: -

Website: https://drlarazib.com/

Instagram: @drlarazib

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH7eW-83_s0wfz22jArPIFA

 

6 Tips to Deal with Relapse in Eating Disorder Recovery

Relapse is an absolutely normal and inevitable part of recovery.

It’s incredibly rare that someone can just stop their eating disorder behaviours, as you have to deal with food every day. Whether this be lapsing back into restrictive eating, binge eating, purging or over-exercising, a relapse can feel pretty stressful and overwhelming. 

But relapses can be incredibly valuable for gaining insight and awareness about your triggers.

Consequently, I like to call relapses – blips or learning experiences.

So it’s helpful to embrace relapses and see them as part of the recovery process.

Over time, as you move along the recovery road, you will relapse less in frequency and you will recover faster. You are never back to square one.

In this episode, I share 6 of my best tips to deal with lapses, and all ones that I have utilised in my own recovery.  I hope that you find this helpful.

 

Autism, Eating Disorders in Men, Stigma and Sport with Thomas Henley

Today, I’m talking to Thomas Henley – passionate autism advocate, public speaker and online content creator. Thomas has his own podcast (the Thoughty Auti podcast- all things autism and mental health) – he is also a YouTuber and Documentary creator. And that’s all in his spare time, as Thomas is also a Business & Event Project manager for a non-profit organisation. Amazingly, Thomas is a former Commonwealth Championship Taekwondo Gold medalist, and owner of the ‘Best Male Fighter’ trophy for his heavyweight bouts.

Diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome at age 10, and then partnering with the charity, Anna Kennedy Online, Thomas became an autism advocate in his early 20’s. He openly shares that he suffers from meltdowns, panic attacks, Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Binge Eating Disorder, and Severe Depression. Despite his struggles, he has developed strong social and communication skills, and achieved an honours degree in Biomedical Science (UoM), has taught in SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) teaching, has extensive traveling experience, and developed his video and audio skills independently. Thomas is an incredibly inspiring human!  

In this interview, we talk about a whole range of different topics. Thomas talks through his personal story of struggling with his own mental health issues, including having bulimia as a child, this then morphing into binge eating disorder as an adult. He shares about his diagnosis with Asperger’s Syndrome at aged 10 and more about the role of how autism interplays with eating disorders and interoception. He also addresses stigma around males having eating disorders and the impact of sport and eating disorders, when there is pressure to be a certain weight or size. This is an episode to truly inspire and encourage people on their journey. I hope that you enjoy it.

To find out more about Thomas: -

Website: https://thomashenley.co.uk/

 

An Interview with Me by Ross Dempsey of Progression Health

Another interview with me this week by Ross Dempsey of Progression Health.

Ross is a qualified personal trainer, with a degree in Exercise and Health Studies and a Masters in Exercise Physiology. He's originally from Ireland but now based out in San Francisco. Ross is passionate about fitness training being hugely beneficial for mental and physical health, and for boosting confidence and relieving stress. He promotes an approach of balance, steering away from restrictive diets and encouraging his clients to embrace movement for achieving ultimate wellbeing and enjoyment. 

Ross was a fantastic interviewer, with lots of great questions and humour too. He talks to me about all things eating disorders. Again, there's a lot packed in to this episode and I hope it will offer you a real insight into this area of mental health.

 

Just to reassure you that the podcast will be back to it's original format next week. I have several guests lined up along with some solo episodes too! I hope that you enjoy this conversation.

To find out more about Ross:

https://linktr.ee/progressionHealthCoaching

An Interview with Me by Shane Walsh Fitness!

Something different this week! It's me being interviewed by Shane Walsh on his podcast.

Shane Walsh is the founder of Shane Walsh Fitness. Shane’s route into fitness was driven by ill health - after getting ill in 2017, Shane decided to start fitness training and immediately experienced the physical and mental benefits of this. Shane then developed a huge passion to support others to do the same. He is a fully qualified nutritionist, who specialises in working with women and educating them about how to genuinely fuel their body and move away from toxic 1200kcal diets that are often recommended for weight loss.

There's lots packed into this episode. I talk about different eating disorders; the impact of the pandemic; getting to the root cause of eating disorders; the fitness industry and supporting men with eating disorders; binge triggers and tips on stopping binge eating; improving body image; how to support someone with an eating disorder; helping children develop a healthy relationship with food and more! I can't believe how much we packed in.

I hope that you enjoy this conversation.

If you want to find out more about Shane Walsh Fitness:

https://www.shanewalshfitness.com/

 

Sexual Abuse and Eating Disorders

This podcast has some triggering content. Please take care of yourself.

If you have experienced some form of sexual abuse in childhood, it is incredibly common that you may struggle with with the abuse of food and have very negative body image.  This is understandable, with food becoming a coping and survival mechanism at a very difficult time. Unconsciously, your relationship with food can mirror your deeper relationship with yourself, after experiencing this trauma.

In this episode, I talk about how the violating act of sexual abuse can impact the body, body image, and induce overwhelming feelings of shame, guilt and powerlessness. I then explore taking baby steps towards healing and finding hope and recovery.

Further help and resources:

https://www.thesurvivorstrust.org/

https://www.recovery-from-child-sexual-abuse.org.uk/

https://www.supportline.org.uk/problems/child-abuse-survivors/

 

 

Eating Disorder Recovery, Disney Princesses and How We Diet Like We Date, with Toni Marinucci

Today I’m talking to Toni Marinucci, a Registered Dietitian, public speaker, coach and author. Toni has a Master’s Degree in Nutrition, has been an avid lifestyle blogger for over 10 years. Toni’s passion lies in helping people live happier and healthier lives, with her mission to help people heal their relationship with food, gain self-confidence, and find balance in eating habits. As well as being a Registered Dietitian, Toni is also a Business Owner of Tips with Toni. Ironically, she teaches people how NOT to diet through online nutrition coaching.

 

In this episode, Toni shares her journey to healing, from growing up in a larger body and being encouraged to diet from such a young age. And how from the depths of despair, how she has healed and then used this experience to grow and support others. Toni also talks about the differences between disordered eating and eating disorders, and how she can define your eating archetype using Disney princesses! She talks about being on the Dr. Oz show (USA daytime TV talk show) and how we diet like we date: - the parallels between our relationship with food and romantic relationships, explained more fully in her new book and Ted Talk. I hope that you enjoy this conversation.

To find out more about Toni, her new book and Ted Talk: -

Instagram: @tipswithtoni_podcast; @tips_with_toni

Website: https://tipswithtoni.com/

 

Dealing with the Root of Eating Disorder Recovery, Healing the Gut and Self-Soothing, with Mindy Gorman-Plutzer

Today, I’m talking to Mindy Gorman-Plutzer, Certified Functional Nutrition and Lifestyle Practitioner and Eating Psychology Coach.   Mindy’s life experience and training inspired her to create a framework that combines functional nutrition, positive psychology, and mind/body science. Mindy is passionate about helping others recover from eating disorders and create a healthier lifestyle. Her approach tackles the root cause of the issue, and emphasizes that how and why you eat is just as important as what you eat.  In addition, Mindy is the author of The Freedom Promise: 7 Steps To Stop Fearing What Food Will Do TO You and Start Embracing What It Can Do FOR You.

In this episode, Mindy talks about her personal journey recovery, the treatment limitations when seeking help and how she found the right support that enabled true healing. She explores how eating disorders become solutions to different trauma or stressors, and the way they can becomes a means of self-soothing, and with healing, other healthier coping strategies can be explored. Mindy works from a functional medicine perspective, involving healing the gut, and she explains her reasoning for not working with the ‘all foods it’ model in recovery.

This is an inspiring and encouraging episode, as Mindy radiates passion, enthusiasm and deep caring for her clients and people healing from eating disorders. It gives hope for recovery and regaining and taking back what was lost through the illness. I hope that you enjoy the episode.  

To find out more about Mindy:-

Instagram: @thefreedompromise

Website: https://thefreedompromise.com/