Contact Arizona Connection Counseling

Thanks for visiting the Arizona Connection Counseling website. We hope you found what you were looking for. We are a licensed counseling agency with offices in Mesa, Gilbert and Scottsdale, AZ, with appointments available statewide through the Telehealth service.

Currently accepting new clients, our team of experienced therapists are trained in and utilize a range of highly researched and clinically proven forms of therapy, including EMDR & EFT (Emotionally Focused Therapy) and many others. In our work with individuals, couples, families, and groups, our aim is to be a safe haven for clients to pursue positive growth. That aim is reflected in our mission: To provide our clients with a safe, comfortable, non-judgmental environment where they can explore issues and make changes to their life.
Finding the right therapist is important. We will work hard to match you with the just the right professional.
If you are dealing with sexual issues, relationship conflict, trauma & self-esteem issues, eating disorders & body image issues, infidelity & betrayal, communication difficulties, navigating divorce, co-parenting, addiction & compulsive behaviors, grief and loss, healthy boundaries, depression, or anxiety – talking to a professional can help. Our team is standing by, ready to help get you started on your journey towards health and healing.

Contact Form

Contact Us

Back-office Hours:
Therapist Session Hours:

Mesa Office Locations

Gilbert Office Location

Scottsdale Office Location

Eating Disorders - It's Not About the Food

By Kelly Lopez

If it’s not about the food, what is it really about?

The eating disorder serves a function, it does a job. Despite the problems an eating disorder creates, it is an effort to cope, shield against, communicate, and solve problems. Behaviors may be a way to establish a sense of power or control, self-worth, strength, and containment. Bringing may be used to numb pain. Purging may be a way to release emotions. When one cannot cope in healthy ways, adaptive functions (behaviors) are created to ensure a sense of safety, security, and control.
According to Carolyn Costin*, some of the “adaptive functions that eating disorder behaviors commonly serve are”:
It’s not about the food, it’s a way of coping with low self-esteem, negative emotions, physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, unstable home, difficulty resolving conflict and much more.
*Costin, Carolyn. The Eating Disorder Sourcebook: A Comprehensive Guide to the Causes, Treatments and Prevention of Eating Disorders. 3rd. edition, McGraw Hill, 2007.
Fuller, Kristen. “Eating Disorders: It’s Not All about Food.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 22 Mar. 2017