Eating Disorder Counseling

How do I know if my struggles with food, weight or body image are really an eating disorder?

During the intake phase of treatment, we will complete a thorough assessment to explore your relationship with food, weight, and body image.  Based on the severity and nature of your presenting issues, we will provide an accurate diagnosis and make recommendations for continued care.  Our team members are experts in the field and will accurately diagnose or rule out the presence of an eating disorder during this initial phase.  

People have expressed concern about my relationship with food and weight, but I don’t believe I have a problem.  

It is common to doubt and minimize the severity of an eating disorder.  Eating disordered thoughts often will rationalize dangerous or concerning behaviors by telling you that your needs are significantly different from others, that you are just trying to be healthy, or that your body is inappropriate in some way and needs to be changed in order to be acceptable.  Further, body image distortion is very common in eating disorders and those struggling will often see themselves as larger or more flawed than they are.

Is eating disorder therapy covered by my insurance?

There are several reasons why we do not accept insurance as an in-network provider. One of the reasons is that it reduces your privacy and confidentiality. Insurance requires that your therapist provide you with a psychiatric diagnosis that goes on your medical health record and can negatively impact you in many ways. 

We want you to be an informed consumer and to have the opportunity to remain in control of your care without the restrictions of insurance. However, if you aren’t concerned about getting a diagnosis and you have a PPO plan, we could discuss going through your out of network benefits. Let us know during your initial call if you want to use insurance and we discuss how this works.

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Treatment is too expensive.

Outpatient eating disorder treatment is a significant investment.  This is true. However, it is far less costly than the medical expenses that will pile up as a result of ongoing eating disordered behaviors, the loss of relationships, and the cost of diet products or binge food.  Further, higher levels of care can cost upwards of thousands of dollars per day, which compared to outpatient treatment, is significantly more.

As a result, we respect your investment in you or your loved one’s care.  Our team offers competitive rates and works on a sliding scale to make sure that our clients can receive the care they need at a fair cost.  

I am afraid if I give up my eating disorder then I will lose my identity.

This is a common fear.  Many people who suffer with eating disorders feel as though their eating disorder is both their best friend and their worst enemy.  They feel fused to the disorder and struggle to imagine a life without it. However, with help from a team of experts, you can break free and learn how to not just manage without your eating disorder, but thrive in your life.  

If I slow down or stop restricting, exercising or purging won’t I become fat and then feel worse?

This is a common misconception.  Exploring where your body’s natural weight set point can be scary.  However, research shows that people are more likely to gain weight and encounter higher body weights due to a lifetime of restricting, yo-yo dieting, and compensatory behaviors.  It seems crazy to think, but eating intuitively not only helps your body to maintain your healthy weight, but also leads to healthy beliefs about your body shape and size.