Integrative Eating Disorder Therapy
How we nourish ourselves with food reflects the attachment relationship we have with our bodies, and our sense of safety and power in our lives. When eating patterns become “disordered,” we are no longer able to attune to the intuition our body holds for meeting our nutritional needs. It is also possible that this intuitive sense was never fully established due to a genetic predisposition to eating struggles, high levels of sensitivity to food, trauma, cultural expectations, or patterns or food restriction in the family or social system. Create Wellbeing develops an individually tailored eating disorder treatment plan using evidence-based, tracking-oriented, body-based, and spiritual/purpose modalities, for the treatment of:
- Anorexia Nervosa
- Bulimia Nervosa
- Binge Eating Disorder
- ARFID
- Unspecified Feeding or Eating Disorders
- Orthorexia Nervosa
Integrative Care Plan
At Create Wellbeing, eating disorders are treated with exceptional sensitivity, holding the awareness that it takes bravery to acknowledge patterns that are frequently hidden and shame-laden. It is also essential to care for eating disorders with clinical expertise and medical collaboration, because the damage of an eating disorder to the body is often not easily visible, but can result in severe physical problems—including death—if not monitored and treated.
We use core eating disorder therapy modalities in conjunction with integrative modalities:
- DBT informed skills tailored for eating disorders
- Family Based Therapy (FBT) adapted to each family
- Meal Support within Sessions
- Exposure Response and Prevention (ERP)
- Art Therapy
- Body-based & Somatic Therapy
- Integrative Acupuncture
- Internal Family Systems (IFS) for eating disorders
3-Stage Care Model for Eating Disorders
Our overarching care model is 3-part, and applies to eating disorders in the following ways:
CALM your distress.
This is to help you to reduce the urge to restrict, binge, or purge, as you feel less visceral distress in your emotional state. We will help you develop coping skills that are effective for you. We want you to have a few options that consistently work for you.
ENGAGE your whole self.
This means supporting the parts of you that are using behaviors to protect you from becoming overwhelmed by other emotions and getting to know those younger and traumatized parts who are hurting. We do this in a mind-body-spirit engagement fashion.
INTEGRATE healing into your life
We will work together to support you in fully integrating your healing into your life so that it can be sustainable: within your daily life and with your support system.
Collaborative Care
Due to the complex nature of eating disorders and their impact on the body, integrative psychotherapy is typically paired with nutrition counseling and medical care, ideally with our preferred providers, who are trained in eating disorders. You can expect collaboration with other clinicians in order to achieve effective healing. Should a higher level of eating disorder support become necessary at any point, you will have support and guidance with this complex process, each step of the way. We have providers with whom we are in close collaboration and feel confident about their abilities to effectively support your care including:
- Registered Dietitians
- Psychiatrists and/or Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners
- Medical Doctors specializing in eating disorders