Our society normalizes and prizes thin bodies, and we live in a time when diet culture continues to run rampant. It can be challenging to figure out a healthy relationship with food when the people around you and messages you receive (both consciously and subconsciously) are telling you to lose weight.

Disordered eating exists on a spectrum, ranging from a clinical eating disorder to someone who occasionally might miss a meal. Therapy can help you figure out a path forward where you are listening to and honouring your body’s hunger and fullness signals, while learning how to tune out or quiet “food noise” thoughts that do not serve you.

I take a health at every size approach (HAES) to treatment. I support clients in forging a healthy relationship with food and with their bodies. One possible outcome of beginning to treat your body with more respect and kindness is weight loss. Another possibility is that beginning to relate to yourself differently results in a reduced importance of the goal of weight loss. You may become more accepting of the body you are in regardless of the number on the scale.

Treatment begins with an assessment of the eating problem using semi-structured clinical interviewing and psychometric measures.

I take a health at every size approach (HAES) to the treatment of eating disorders, and integrate Cognitive Behavioural Therapy - Enhanced (CBT-E) with Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) skills to support you first in learning about and understanding your eating problem, begin to gain experience normalizing your eating through daily tracking and normalized eating principles, and teach DBT skills to support you in being able to manage your urges, increase your tolerance of distressing feelings, and regulate your emotions.

I also integrate aspects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into my work to help you identify and clarify your values - the why behind wanting to recover from your eating problem.

Given the complex and medical nature of eating disorders, a requirement of treatment with me is that you have a family doctor whom you meet with regularly to assess your vitals and medical history to ensure medical stability. For patients who do not have a family doctor, I can provide guidance on how to go about applying for one.

I often strongly recommend patients with eating disorders connect with a Registered Dietitian, specifically an RD who specializes in the treatment of eating disorders. I have a few RDs I commonly refer to. A multidisciplinary approach to treatment is vital for the treatment of eating disorders, which is why I strongly recommend patients meet with an RD in addition to our psychological treatment sessions.

Ambivalence - both wanting and not wanting something - is incredibly common in people with eating disorders. There can be a logical understanding you have that the behaviours you engage in are damaging to your body, mind, and overall health and well-being, and yet, giving up behaviours you have grown accustomed to for months or years is not easy and can feel destabilizing.

I work slowly and mindfully with patients to take treatment at their own pace, working through any feelings of ambivalence that might show up. It’s normal to feel excited to change and scared - eager to start one day, and reluctant the next.

In keeping with the CBT-E protocol for eating disorders, treatment occurs on a weekly basis for around ten 50-minute appointments, and then occurs every other week for an additional 10 or so sessions.

Having said that, I modify treatment to fit your needs, and am willing to work with folks who might have limited insurance coverage at a reduced fee if necessary. I understand how difficult it is to find the right help for an eating disorder, and support patients where I can to get the help they need as soon as possible.

It can be helpful for patients struggling with an eating disorder to have others closest to them know about what is going on. As a Psychologist, I find it helpful to speak to someone close to you to get a better understanding of their concerns based on what they have observed about you. I also find it helpful to be able to speak to someone close to you, ideally someone living with you, to provide education about eating disorders and tailored strategies for how this individual can best support you at home (and not make things worse). Because of these reasons, I often offer to speak to someone close to you over the phone as part of treatment.