Find An Eating Disorder Therapist in Gulf Islands, BC.

I am honoured that you are interested in my services and I would like to tell you a little bit about myself. I have been described as slightly non-conventional in the counselling world, which suits me perfectly, and also tends to suit youth who are trying to stand up to the force of the problems in their life. I am very comfortable working with this population, and I feel fortunate that I can connect with teens the way I do, conventionally or in a way that makes sense to them.

It is my hope that individual therapy will benefit clients who may currently be participating in community-based support groups and group therapy, giving them the opportunity to explore in more depth the underlying issues related to their challenges with food. Clients will benefit from exploring relationship issues with significant people in their lives. They will learn to identify inner and situational triggers that may have resulted in harmful patterns and choices in the past. They will benefit from identifying negative and debilitating thought patterns, and will develop self-affirming beliefs to move them to greater confidence and self-acceptance.

At Seasons Family Centre, we provide support for youth and adults struggling with eating disorders, offering a warm, non-judgmental space for healing. Using evidence-based approaches like CBT, DBT, EFFT, IFS, and FBT, we tailor care to meet each individual’s needs while fostering trust and connection. Rooted in a Health at Every Size (HAES) philosophy, we emphasize respect for all bodies and focus on holistic well-being. With deep care and understanding, we guide clients and families toward healing relationships with food, their bodies, and themselves.

Eating disorders are complicated and complex. Having lived with an experience of a distorted body image, I have an understanding of some of the challenges of an eating disorder. To get the outcome clients want, I utilize the approaches of EMDR, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Neurofeedback (NFB). EMDR takes the charge out of rooted disturbances, allowing an individual to overcome challenging behaviours without needing to reason. With CBT, I am able to offer support while challenging distorted thoughts and dysfunctional behaviours. NFB trains the brain to self regulate, allowing optimal performance, effecting the thoughts, emotions and actions that keep an eating disorder alive.

If you struggle with food addiction, emotional eating, eating disorders (including anorexia and/or bulimia), disordered eating, or have general concerns around your consumption of food, Andee Dale with Gravitate Counselling Inc. might be the right counsellor for you. She specializes in food-related concerns and is working towards certification as an Eating Disorders Specialist with the International Association of Eating Disorders Professionals. You can expect sessions with Andee to be strengths-based and solution-focused, with each appointment focusing on what you would like to talk about.

I work with folks of all genders and body sizes experiencing disordered eating, bulimia, binge eating, restrictive eating, and stress and fear around food. Drawing on Intuitive Eating principles, and using somatic, attachment-based, and trauma-focused work as appropriate, I work collaboratively with clients to build safety, freedom, trust, and joy with food and eating.

Recovery from eating disorders (ED) is possible regardless of how long and intensley you may have struggled with it. ED works to rob you of your life, but you can have your life back from an eating disorder. Though it rarely seems so, ED's are not about food and body image, but about the underlying emotional issues and challenges one is experiencing. I would be pleased to assist you in recovering and understanding these issues and aid you in resolving them. Each woman longs for a beauty to unfold, and I believe each woman has this. You are not an exception.

Eating Disorders can impact someone as negatively as any type of serious addiction. However, unlike addiction treatment plans, food must continue to play a role in your life. My basic goal is to stop further development of any eating problem you may have, and assist you in returning to a healthy lifestyle. The most successful focus is on harm reduction as an overall principle in addressing eating disorders, with the end goal of moving towards complete recovery. I also typically want to establish effective coping skills to reduce the possibility of relapse and sustain the progress you make in therapy.

Having personally experienced disordered eating, I understand how deeply challenging and frightening this journey can be. Eating disorders are often connected to trauma and complex emotions, making recovery feel overwhelming. I offer a safe, non-judgmental space to explore these struggles, honor your courage, and work together to develop compassionate strategies for healing and reclaiming a healthier relationship with your body and self.

Eating disorders are often an expression of emotional distress and an unclear or negative sense of self. We explore the emotions and family patterns and relationships that might be contributing. Then we move from emotional understanding to action - we explore what is within the client's control and what is outside of their control - from there we determine in a concrete way the nature of the next steps.

If you are eating in an unhealthy way quite possibly you have sought medical advice. Counseling will support you by looking for the reasons why you use food and eating in unhealthy ways. i will ask you to tell your story in lots of detail. Maybe you will uncover self esteem issues or issues about control and power. We may talk about feminism and societal trends and advertising which encourage you to try to look like models or entertainers. We will try to strengthen your pride and acceptance of yourself so you do not seek approval using behaviours not respectful of you health and individuality. We will look at effective eating management strategies and self honoring lifestyle choices.

Having an eating disorder often leads to different emotions such as sadness, anger, shame and confusion. Having an eating disorder means you are probably also struggling with other mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. That is why it is really important to work with a therapist who can not only help you with symptoms of your eating disorder, but also help you with traumas and emotional difficulties that have led to your symptoms. When working with eating disorders, my goal is to help my clients understand their eating disorder from a compassionate perspective and also heal the deeper wounds that might lie underneath their eating patterns.

If you’ve struggled with disordered eating, you are all too familiar with compulsive behavior, obsessive thoughts and a disconnect from the body. You may also have a constant need for control while at the same time feeling a frightening and exhausting loss of all control. Please know that none of this is your choice, but rather is a state of stress and overwhelm while you do your best to feel better. I have nothing but compassion for the distress that comes with food-related challenges, and you have my commitment to help you care for the difficult underlying emotions involved. Together, we will create a safe space to move towards healing and a safe relationship with food and the body.

I use the Internal Family Systems approach to eating disorders, which views disordered eating as the result of inner conflict among different "parts" of the self. Often, a "Critic" part drives restrictive behaviors, while "Exiled" parts carry painful emotions or past trauma that the eating disorder tries to suppress. I'll help you identify and understand these parts, fostering compassion and healing. The goal is to unburden the parts, heal the underlying trauma, and restore balance so that you can develop healthier coping strategies and a more loving relationship with food and body.

Emotional and disordered eating—including conditions such as anorexia and bulimia—as well as preoccupation with body image, weight, or a negative relationship with food, can have profound emotional, physical, and psychological effects. These challenges can make it difficult to fully experience your feelings, maintain healthy relationships, and enjoy life to the fullest. Counselling can help you reclaim the time and energy currently consumed by thoughts and worries about food. As your counsellor, I work with you to develop a healthier relationship with both food and your body, helping you feel more in control and supported throughout your journey. Together, we focus on strategies that promot

Issues related to food and body-image, eating or not eating, perfectionism, or overall fixation on appearance can flood your reality to the point where they consume you. These kinds of issues often arise to serve a function, or fulfill a purpose, in your inner, psychological world. They can be a way to cope, to try to heal hurt parts of yourself, to maintain control in uncontrollable situations. Sometimes, they can be related to adverse childhood experiences and developmental trauma—though all the jargon may not apply or do justice to your individual context. Together, we can find a way to manage your thoughts and behaviors and take steps to address anything that may be underlying them.

Eating disorders affect all ages, all walks of life and both men and women. They can become both a burden and a block to living a healthy, happy life. I work carefully with an informed treatment approach that is holistic and tailored to you. We will work together to reduce the power the eating disorder has in your life, improve you overall health and self-perception and strategize a healthy way out of the difficult maze you are trapped in. Contact me to start making changes today.

Eating disorders include anorexia, bulimia and even over-eating. Discovering the underlying emotions and beliefs is a key part of this therapy. Issues of control, self-esteem, self image and aloneness are often a part of what is behind this disorder. My goal is to help you uncover these, and then help you accurately define who you are, find new and healthy ways of coping and interacting in your world.

Eating Disorders develop as a way of navigating deep unresolved emotional pain and trauma. All our emotions and trauma are stored in our bodies. Working with eating disorders involves not only navigating the behavioural symptoms of disordered eating but more importantly developing a compassionate relationship to the body by connecting in, to where the emotional pain is stored. Together, with compassion and understanding we work on lifting the shame connected to body image and the external ways that has been created, then facing the deeper internal emotional issues at the root. It is possible to fully heal from disordered eating.

Making the first appointment to treat an eating disorder takes courage. It can feel overwhelming to talk about the problem and discover ways to change. I create a safe environment to talk about the fears and worries connected to eating disorders. Some common eating challenges include anorexia, bulimia, over eating, emotional eating, binge eating and over exercising. My practical approach will help you discover new ways of coping and promote long term change.

Eating disorders are treated with a family based treatment approach, acceptance and commitment therapy, narrative therapy, and/or cognitive behaviour therapy. Eating disorders can affect the whole family and so it is important that family therapy be a part of the treatment plan. At Island Clinical Counselling we also take a holistic approach to treatment and involve a team of practitioners as required.

The category of ‘eating disorders’ includes anorexia-nervosa, bulimia-nervosa, binge-eating disorder, and eating disorders not otherwise specified (EDNOS). The current most effective treatment model for eating disorders is Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy Enhanced. CBT-E is highly individualized to each client, and involves exploring thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, psychoeducation, investigating patterns of belief that are maintaining the eating disorder, learning skills and coping strategies, and planning for the future. Clients can typically expect to feel more aware and in control of their thoughts, emotions, and behaviour, have more positive relationships, more energy, and self love.

Emotional eating: Eating is not just about the food we put in our mouth, if it was then no one would have eating disorders. There are many types of eating disorders including bulimic, anorexia and over-eaters. Treatments is based on your own individual needs. Together we will work on the underlying issues and coping strategies. Food often represents love, nurturing, comfort. Before changing our eating habits, we need to find new and better ways to find comfort. Body image and issues around control are also common themes behind eating disorders. My approach is based on cognitive therapy as well as compassion and empathy.

In helping the clients who struggle with Eating disorder, I benefit from concepts and tasks from internal Family Systems approach . I assist clients explore the different parts of themselves, including those parts that may be driving disordered eating behaviors (e.g., a part that uses food to soothe emotional pain). Through IFS, clients learn to identify and understand these parts, rather than being controlled by them. In addition , Clients with eating disorders often experience internal conflicts, such as feeling simultaneously driven to restrict food and to binge. Clients encouraged to access these conflicting parts, engage with them compassionately.

Eating Disorders can become all-consuming, and extremely disruptive of every day life. Most who suffer with eating disorders think about their relationship with food all day long, weigh themselves excessively, and do (sometimes irreparable) damage to their bodies and psyches. Dr Sloat helps you to find the underlying causes and thinking patterns that perpetuate your disorder so you can find a sustainable solution and implement it. Are you ready to reclaim yourself?