You know that you struggle with food and anxiety but you aren’t sure if it’s bad enough to need to go to therapy. Besides that, you don’t know what eating disorder therapy would be like and you avoid things that make you anxious. I completely understand your hesitancy. It’s vulnerable and scary to open up to someone about what you are struggling with. I want to provide some reassurance that I’m genuinely interested in helping you. It doesn’t matter if you don’t think your eating disorder is as bad as other people, you still deserve help. I would never minimize your struggle nor would I wonder why you were reaching out for therapy. I pinky swear I’m here to help, and no matter what, you deserve help.
If it helps you make your decision to go to therapy, I want to give you some ideas on what are the common themes for me in working with women with eating disorders.
What’s the focus of eating disorder therapy?
There are plenty of areas to cover in eating disorder therapy. This is why eating disorder therapy generally takes 18 months to two years. These are the most common themes that are addressed with my clients.
To learn to practice self-compassion
If I only had one sentence to sum up what eating disorder therapy comes down to it would be: therapy helps you learn to be kind to yourself. If you struggle like my clients do this probably sounds impossible to you right now. You might also think that having kindness and self-compassion will make you lazy and complacent but research proves the opposite is true. Eating disorder therapy will help you learn to practice being kind to yourself. Self-compassion is the most healing practice, and it might sound hard right now but I can help you.
To talk about things you didn’t expect to talk about
I’m gonna be honest, we aren’t going to talk a whole lot about your eating disorder and your eating disorder behaviors. Of course, we will address those but more than anything we will be talking more about the negative beliefs you have about yourself, and how your past experiences have shaped you. We will also focus on helping you learn to cope in healthier ways. The work that I do is more than just what shows up on the surface. I’m here to dive in deep and help you do deep healing.
To learn how to feel all of your emotions
Your eating disorder has helped you numb your emotions. You probably didn’t consciously realize you were trying to cope with anxiety, stress, or feeling unworthy when you started using eating disorder behaviors. Even as you read this you might not be able to see it, and that’s ok. Eating disorder therapy helps you learn to feel your emotions again. Part of healing is being able to feel all of the things you are avoiding feeling. I know this is scary because it feels like once you start to feel things you’ll never stop feeling them. It might feel like that at first but eventually, you’ll feel more settled and better than before.
Start working with an eating disorder therapist in Utah
You don’t have to figure this out yourself. You don’t have to be overwhelmed by anxiety. Eating disorder therapy can help you leave your eating disorder behind. This Utah Counseling Practice has an eating disorder therapist who specializes in eating disorder therapy. To begin counseling follow the steps below:
Meet with an eating disorder therapist in Utah
Begin eating disorder recovery
Online Eating Disorder Therapy in Utah
It can be difficult to find access to a therapist that specializes in eating disorders where you live. Utah has a lot of rural places in it and unfortunately, that means many people in those places will have to travel to eating disorder therapy. This is why I offer online therapy in Utah. It’s effective and convenient.
Online counseling also means if you live in Salt Lake City, Logan, St. George, Cedar City, Heber City, and more, we can work together.
Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy
Eating disorder therapy isn’t the only counseling service provided by this Utah Counseling Center. Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy include body image therapy, anxiety therapy, EMDR therapy, birth trauma therapy, and binge eating disorder treatment. Schedule a free phone consultation to see how I can help you.
About the Author
Ashlee Hunt is a licensed therapist at Maple Canyon Therapy in Utah. Ashlee has been working with eating disorders since 2013 and enjoys helping women in their journey to eating disorder recovery. Ashlee believes in helping women achieve body neutrality by using a health-at-every-size approach. She has a bachelor's in psychology and a bachelor's in family life and human development from Southern Utah University. Ashlee also has a masters in social work from Utah State University.