I am passionate about helping individuals heal and feel empowered to look at their lives through clearer lenses. My approach in therapy is based on a research-based perspective that the brain is constantly trying to heal itself. The beautiful thing about our brain is that there is hope for healing. Even if we go through inevitable difficulties in our lives, we can indeed recover, but sometimes we need a little bit of help to move forward. I am here to help you with your journey of healing and growing as a person.
Life can be unpredictable and can bring us to situations that we may not know how to handle. I can help you strengthen your potential and your abilities, to allow you to feel equipped and have a better sense of self. I use a combination of evidenced based therapy practices such as Mindfulness, CBT, and also EMDR therapy for those who need to process past trauma.
Asking for help can be, at times, outside of our comfort zone. But I am here to support you with any questions you may have. This is a non-judgmental, safe space to talk about any concerns or hesitations. I would be pleased to speak to you in an initial phone conversation at no cost. Lastly, I also speak Spanish – hablo español.
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”:
Comfort, soothing, nurturance
Numbing, sedation, distraction
Attention, a cry for help
Discharge of tension, anger, rebellion
Predictability, structure, identity
Self-punishment or punishment of "the body"
Self-cleansing or self-purification
Protection or safety (through creation of a small or large body)
Avoidance of intimacy
Proof for self-blame instead of blaming others (for exampl, abusers)
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