I work with people whose problems with their relationship with food range across a spectrum of using food for reasons other than normal hunger to having a severe eating disorder.

Regardless of the nature or severity, I provide compassionate, focused counseling to help you  return to a healthier relationship with food and your body.  Because many factors contribute to problems with food, the "best treatment" is one customized for each individual. In general, this includes

Effective treatment must address learning to manage problems with food. But to achieve true relief, I believe we must understand and deal with the underlying issues. 

I have experience working as a team with other medical professionals such as  dietitians/nutritionists and psychiatrists in addition to the primary care provider.   I can also work with the family to help provide support and understanding during the treatment process if we decide this will be important.

 Appointments: 425-233-2439

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Food and Mood

If you have a concern about how you eat, including concerns about weight management, there’s a good chance that there is a connection between how you handle your emotions and how you use food.  This connection starts when we are infants and our basic needs are to be fed and to be held – which often happen together. Many families continue to use food to soothe us when we are hurt or unhappy to help us feel better.  And how often is that soothing food something like a cookie?  Sadly, the result is often that we often learn at an early age to turn to food in some way to avoid our unpleasant feelings  - because it seems to work.  Carbohydrates break down in our bodies in a way that chemically comforts and calms us for a short while - which is why cookies and other similar foods are often the "comfort food of choice".

Restricting food can decrease emotional turmoil as well – just in a different way.  For one thing, the process of saying “no” to yourself when you are hungry can provide a much needed sense of control.  The lack of food has also been found to function like an addictive drug for some people as the brain releases opiates in response to self starvation that actually give you the sense of a “high”.

Both of these examples illustrate why it can be so hard to stop using food – or lack of food – to handle difficult emotions.

Eating Disorder Support Groups
 
Follow this link to find listings for some of the excellent local resources

http://www.counselingseattle.com/resources/support-group.htm