Find An Eating Disorder Therapist in Oakley, CA.

Eating disorders and body image issues can be overwhelming, causing people to isolate and not live the life she/he would like. Treatment can be tricky because sometimes people are caught between wanting to recover and not wanting to let the eating disorder go. When working with someone who has this struggle, it is important to help them uncover what the eating disorder is providing for them. From there, strategies can be developed to fill the same needs but in a healthy way so clients are able to reach their potential.

An eating disorder is not a lifestyle choice. An eating disorder is a serious and often fatal illnesses that causes serious disturbances to a person’s eating behaviors, physical health, and relationships. Obsessions with food, body weight, and shape may also signal an eating disorder. The sooner someone struggling with this illness, or displaying behaviors and attitudes consistent with these disorders, can get connected to help, the better. Common eating disorders include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge-eating disorder. As with any illness or psychological disorder, these problems will not go away on their own; without clinical support they often only escalate dangerously.

Most eating disorders are experienced by people whose lives feel out of control. This often comes from having an autonomic nervous system that does not regulate the body well. This dysregulation is based in both shock trauma (single episode overwhelming events) and developmental trauma (repeated lower grade trauma and attachment/neglect problems). I use Somatic Experiencing to help individuals to gain mastery over their autonomic nervous system and feel like they are once again back in control of their body and their life.

When someone is suffering with an eating disorder the best treatment will be a comprehensive program consisting of a medical evaluation, nutrition and exercise counseling, psychotherapy for the individual and perhaps the family as well, support groups and possibly a referral to a psychiatrist. The client may have access to all these through an inpatient treatment program or may be seeking to piece these together in outpatient treatment. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy has been shown to be an important part of effective treatment for eating disorders. CBT can help support the individual and the family in understanding the dynamics of an eating disorder and working to overcome it.

You are entitled to a body that is healthy and strong, and making the commitment to move into health sometimes requires loving support from a seasoned therapist who understands all the many nuances of disordered eating. The problem isn't food as much as it is a problem of relationship with ourselves. With compassionate understanding I can help you move from the complexities of maintaing an eating disorder into the safety of recovery that allows you to be at peace, once and for all, with the authentic YOU within. Please call me today for more information about the tools and paths to recovery I utilize. I can be reached at 925-520-5263.

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 use Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing to help those with compulsive eating patterns. This new way of using EMDR helps to disconnect the link between food and the feeling you may be chasing when you turn to food for things it cannot provide - love, comfort, safety, etc. Contact me for more information to see if this is the right treatment for you.