Find An Eating Disorder Therapist in Vancouver, BC.

I work with clients dealing with disordered eating by helping them first identify their individual triggers, habits, thought patterns, flawed coping strategies, body image issues, and belief systems. Most people who have an eating disorder developed this as a means to cope with bigger issues in their lives such as poor self-esteem, trauma, depression, anxiety, or other significantly painful events. I work with clients to help them gain insight into the source of their disordered eating, to develop awareness around their thoughts, and to create change through teaching healthy coping strategies and processing of the source of their pain.

I help clients overcome addictive relationships with food. Like all addictions, the behavior is the tip of the iceberg, used to cope with underlying thoughts and emotions. Through collaborative conversations, clients gain insight into underlying concerns, gaining coping skills to more effectively navigate these issues. I draw on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Motivational Interviewing (MI), helping clients achieve a sense of freedom and control over their lives, leading to long-term change.

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.

While most eating disorder issues are treated by cognitive behavioral methodologies or specialized outpatient/inpatient programs, Grey Matters International and the work of Kevin J. Fleming, PhD provide relief first and foremost for the brain of one suffering from an eating disorder----without giving them medication. We believe that the neural circuitries responsible for the compulsive behaviors with eating are not necessarily only a neurotransmitter issue but of overused neural networks that affect the harmonization, balance, and decisions of the whole brain. Contact kevin@kevinfleminphd.com or 877-606-6161 to learn more about this safe and effective alternative.

I am passionate around supporting people get to a more peaceful relationship with food and their bodies, which really is about the relationship with yourself. My approach is a combination of psychotherapy to gain insight into the historical roots of your relationship with food, your body and how that has manifested and explore the comfort these behaviours are providing for you so we can look to other ways in getting your valid needs met. I combine this with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and `Compassion Focused Therapy to build a better relationship with yourself- your thoughts, feelings, values so you can be more able to make choices out of presence and awareness.

Eating disorders are an unhealthy pattern, used by a healthy individual, to deal with an issue. Together we explore what the issue is about. We don't talk about food a lot, but about what lies beneath. In most cases the person has difficulties of emotional regulation, which are then transferred on the corporal level. Once the client becomes aware of that, we slowly unwrap the issue and the feelings involved.

I am flexible in approach with Eating Disorders, starting with what has worked or is working with you already. I offer Acceptance and Commitment Therapy as a new approach that will help you to target the thoughts and feelings that cause the problem behaviours in a whole new way. I will give you new skills for handling difficult thoughts and feelings that cause you to binge, purge, or over/under eat. I have formal training in the ACT model which is an evidence based treatment for EDs. Contact me to discuss further.

As an experienced therapist in the area of eating disorders, I have found that often the greatest healing occurs through re-connectiong with the body, developing a trusting and loving relationship with it, and discovering its wisdom. When one begins to trust that that far from being one's enemy, the body is one's constant friend and guide, one's whole experience of self can be transformed. One lives from one's own core rather than focusing on food, body image, and others' evaluations, and therefore one becomes more confident and life becomes richer and freer.

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.

EMDR therapy can be a useful tool in treating eating disorders by addressing the underlying emotional issues that may contribute to disordered eating behaviors. Trauma, negative self-image, and other emotional factors can contribute to the development of eating disorders. EMDR therapy works to reprocess these negative emotions and beliefs, helping individuals develop a more positive self-image and reduce the urge to engage in disordered eating behaviors. EMDR can also be used to address triggers that may lead to binging or purging, and to develop healthier coping mechanisms. By addressing the emotional factors that contribute to eating disorder, EMDR can be an effective tool in recovery.

Eating disorders benefit from the same or similar approach used for all addictive behaviours. One of the main therapeutic approaches I use is Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. The relationship to food can be quite complex involving societal or cultural pressures, self-image, past traumas, addictive non-nutritious junk food, media images, social media pressures, bullying. Shame and guilt need to be addressed along with peer pressures. The most common eating disorders are: Anorexia, Bulimia, Binge Eating, Pica, Rumination Disorder, Avoidance/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), Orthorexia, Purging Disorder etc. The benefits of therapy are enhanced self-image, health and well-being.

Our highly trained therapists utilize evidence-based techniques, including Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), to address the underlying emotional and psychological factors associated with eating disorders. With CBT, clients are guided to identify and challenge their distorted thoughts and beliefs about food, body image, and self-worth. By replacing these negative patterns with healthier perspectives, individuals can cultivate a more positive relationship with themselves and their bodies. DBT offers a comprehensive toolkit for clients to manage their emotions, develop healthier coping strategies, and enhance interpersonal skills.

Disordered Eating patterns and Eating Disorders are not about food. Those who suffer from these afflictions experience emotional torment, fear, a feeling of a loss of control, and cultural and societal pressures. Whether you have experienced sexual, emotional, or physical abuse, we work with you to discover the root of your beliefs about food, your body, and the factors that are both contributive and protective in the development and maintenance of your eating disorder

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.

I have worked with many clients who have eating disorders. My clients have been helped a great deal by understanding what food represents for them. Often it is the form that they have chosen to express their unconscious self hatred and loathing. I help clients uncover the purpose for their eating disorder. It is usually not about the food. It is about how they feel when they have used food in a punitive manner. My clients learn to view food from a different perspective that is more practical and not self punishing. As my clients gain appreciation and understanding for themselves, the need to do self harm diminishes.

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.

In my professional experiences I have come to discover many clients who struggle with eating disorders are on a deeper level unaware of the unresolved grief and loss as well as a tremendous sense of powerlessness, anxiety, depression and or trauma from past experiences. You do not have to feel powerless any longer. Take control back of your past, your present and your future. Please call or text me today.

Our relationships with our bodies are greatly impacted in a society that places more value on a specific body shape and appearance. The social pressure to confirm to this ideal are at the root of eating disorders. However, we locate the problem within the individual. Through counselling we can examine the individual experience of your experience and the loved ones who are also affected. We will also explore the role of social context and social pressure. One of the goals of therapy will be to strengthen other narratives of the individual. For example, that the identify of an "eating disorder" is not the individual only identity.