Struggling with an eating disorder is so difficult, and it’s hard to talk about it when it feels like nobody understands where you are coming from. “Just eat”, they say, “I don’t know why it’s so difficult. Just focus on eating healthy foods”. What’s the point in talking about this when all you get are unhelpful responses? You end up keeping your feelings and struggles to yourself because talking about them doesn’t seem to make it any better. It’s frustrating when the people in your life don’t understand eating disorders and why it’s so complicated to stop doing eating disorder behaviors. You don’t even understand why it’s so hard but you know that it’s not simple.
I totally get where you’re coming from. I understand how taking advice or getting help from someone that doesn’t understand eating disorders can actually make it worse. When I meet with my clients and they share some of the things that people have said I sometimes have to pick my jaw up off of the floor. I know many clients who have seen a therapist for their eating disorder that didn’t have the experience and training, and the client ended up feeling triggered and spiraling further into their eating disorder. I know how important it is that you get help from someone that knows exactly how to help you. I also know it’s not always accessible for you to see an eating disorder therapist.
I can’t solve all of the problems that make eating disorder recovery hard but one thing I can do is make it a little more convenient for you. I have lived in rural parts of Utah myself and know how hard it is to travel and get access to the mental health support that you need. This is why I offer online eating disorder therapy.
What is online eating disorder therapy?
Online eating disorder therapy is pretty similar to in-person eating disorder therapy. Online eating disorder therapy involves meeting with an eating disorder therapist through a face-to-face video call (like Facetime) on a HIPAA-compliant video platform. Online eating disorder therapy sessions happen once a week and involve focusing on your goals for eating disorder recovery. Sometimes you won’t know what your goals are but know that you want to feel better and stop using eating disorder behaviors. As an eating disorder therapist, I can help you know where to start and what would be the most important to focus on but you’re always in the driver's seat and get to decide how fast and how slow we go. Online eating disorder therapy is for people who are not medically compromised in their eating disorder and are stable enough to not need a higher level of care.
Is online eating disorder therapy effective?
Many people wonder if it’s as effective as meeting with a therapist in person, and it definitely is! I was doing online therapy before the Covid-19 pandemic but when the whole world shut down and went online it solidified how much it works! I get excited about online therapy because I know how hard it is for people to struggle with an eating disorder and there is nobody in their Utah town that specializes in treating eating disorders. This idea has always kept me up at night, and I can’t stand to think about people not getting the help they need because there is nobody close by. Online eating disorder therapy is an effective form of therapy and is not any less impactful than meeting in person. I totally understand that you may have a preference for meeting in person, and if that’s what you want to do by all means do it but I don’t want you to struggle to travel and attend appointments because you think it’s superior to online. It’s no different.
How does online eating disorder therapy help?
Online eating disorder therapy allows you to meet with an eating disorder therapist from the comfort of your own home. Online eating disorder therapy helps to be able to recognize and understand the contributing factors of your eating disorder. Eating disorders are complicated and it’s not that simple to try and figure out what contributes to your eating disorder. Eating disorders aren’t just about wanting to be thin and to lose weight. It’s not just about hating your body and wanting to eat healthily. Eating disorders are about so much more than that. Some women with eating disorders, they’ve experienced trauma that impacts how they feel about themselves and don’t realize what they experienced was a traumatic event. Eating disorders can be about trying to control chaos and manage anxiety. They can be about the negative beliefs you have about yourself. Online eating disorder therapy can help you work through these things and make connections in order to fully recover from your eating disorder.
What is online eating disorder therapy like?
Online eating disorder therapy involves meeting for 50 minutes with an eating disorder therapist face-to-face via a video chat platform that’s similar to facetime. It’s best to meet every week in order to get the best results and gain more traction in eating disorder recovery. In these therapy sessions, we can talk about whatever you want to focus on! For some of the women that I work with this brings up too much anxiety, and they don’t know what to talk about. That’s ok! I can help you and guide you through the process. I don’t talk to my clients about what they’re eating and how much. I leave that to their eating disorder dietitian and nutrition counseling. What we do focus on are your emotions around food and your body. We will talk about experiences that made you feel like what you looked like matters and how your eating disorder developed. We don’t have to talk about anything you don’t want to. I want you to feel safe with me before anything else.
How do I prepare for an online eating disorder therapy session?
My clients love to prepare and feel ready before they sign up for therapy. My general recommendations are first to make sure you will have privacy. I have had clients meet with me from their closets and their cars parked in their driveways because that’s where they felt the safest. It doesn’t matter to me where you are for the session as long as you have a good internet connection and will feel comfortable sharing without someone else listening in. It’s also helpful if you have earphones to use as it often helps us be able to hear each other better.
What’s different about online eating disorder therapy?
The only thing different about online eating disorder therapy is that we won’t be in the physical presence of each other. I won't find you in the waiting room and you won’t sit on my couch. Otherwise, everything else is the same. I talk to you and approach you the same way as I would in person. Sometimes I will explain to you what I’m doing because you can’t see everything from a computer screen. If I spill my soda all over the carpet I will let you know what you missed :).
How long does an online eating disorder take?
Online eating disorder therapy is a 50 minutes session and most of the clients I work with for an average of 18 months. I know that can seem like a long time when you want a quick fix but eating disorders don’t have a quick fix. You will gradually feel better and better throughout the process but if you are committed to eating disorder recovery and you want to get better, just know it won’t be quick. It will be worth it and you won’t regret it but it will be a commitment.
What’s the goal of online eating disorder therapy?
The goal of eating disorder therapy is to help you fully recover from your eating disorder. As an eating disorder therapist, I want you to be able to eat without fear and anxiety. I want you to be able to manage and cope with your anxiety in healthier ways that aren’t restricting or binging. My goal is to help you work through the painful experiences you’ve had with your body and with others. I want you to be able to trust yourself and in turn to help your body trust you back. Your overall mental health should improve the more you focus on getting rid of your eating disorder. The number one priority is helping you feel better and feel like you can approach life in a more stable way.
Online Binge Eating Therapy
Binge Eating Disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States. Many people who struggle with binge eating are too ashamed to ask for help and don’t feel like their struggle is as valid as someone with a different eating disorder though. People who binge eat need just as much help as anyone else. Online binge eating therapy can help you overcome binge eating disorder and heal your relationship with food. I’m not here to judge you and just want to help you find relief. Online therapy works for binge eating disorder treatment as well.
Online eating disorder therapy gives you access to an eating disorder therapist in Utah
Utah is a big state and there might not be an eating disorder therapist where you live. You can travel an hour or more to get to a therapy appointment or you can get the same results by utilizing online therapy. You deserve eating disorder recovery. I know it doesn’t feel good to hold all of this heaviness, to feel trapped, and to have no idea how you’ll get out. You don’t have to
feel this way. There is help for you. Working with an eating disorder therapist online can make a huge difference for you. I have known since I first started working with eating disorders when I was a brand new therapist that this was the population I wanted to work with. I have never met more tenacious and inspiring women. They have been through painful things and all I’ve ever wanted is to show them compassion that they don’t give to themselves. You can recover from your eating disorder and working with an eating disorder therapist can help you through the process.
Begin working with an eating disorder therapist in Utah
You don’t have to keep feeling trapped in your eating disorder. I know the cycle is exhausting over and over again. You can find peace with food and your body, and eating disorder therapy can help. This Utah Counseling Clinic has an eating disorder therapist specializing in eating disorder therapy through online therapy in Utah. To begin counseling follow the steps below:
Meet with an online therapist in Utah
Start recovering from your eating disorder
Other mental health services provided by Maple Canyon Therapy
Online eating disorder therapy isn’t the only mental health service provided at this Utah Counseling Center. Other mental health services offered by Maple Canyon Therapy include binge eating disorder treatment, anxiety therapy, EMDR therapy, body image therapy, and birth trauma therapy.
About the Author
Ashlee Hunt is a licensed therapist and owner of Maple Canyon Therapy in Utah. Ashlee has two bachelor's degrees from Southern Utah University, a bachelor's in psychology, and a bachelor's in family life and human development. She obtained her master's in social work from Utah State University. Ashlee has been working with eating disorders since 2014 when she was a graduate student therapist at Utah State University Counseling and Psychological Services. She has worked with eating disorders at all levels of care from inpatient and residential to outpatient and partial hospitalization. Ashlee enjoys working with women on an outpatient basis the best and finds that working with motivated women who want to leave their eating disorders behind is the most rewarding job. She enjoys continually learning and gaining knowledge in the field of eating disorders as this is her life’s passion.