Find An Eating Disorder Therapist in Redwood City, CA.

Eating disorders are pervasive in the United States and it is a misconception and cultural myth that women are the only people that suffer from them. I work with all genders struggling with eating disorders to understand their relationship to their bodies and the beliefs they hold about their bodies. At the onset of therapy, I will assess if immediate medical attention and/or hospitalization is necessary before talk therapy can begin.

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.

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.

Just as a drug addict uses drugs to cope, someone with a food addiction uses food in order to deal with their problems. I understand the other issues that often come with an eating disorder, such as poor body image, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and family and relationship problems. In my eating disorder therapy sessions, I frequently discuss nutritional considerations in our work together. You may be thinking, “What does nutrition have to do with psychotherapy or eating disorders?” Many of us bristle when we think of nutrition, because we think it means dieting or something equally unpleasant. In therapy, many emotional conditions can be dramatically helped with nutrition.

As a woman, I know all too well the ways that you may find yourself in a painful relationship to food and to your body. Society's unrealistic standards and preoccupation with women's external beauty can challenge a woman's self worth at various stages of life. Perhaps this is old news to you but you don't know how to free yourself from it. In our work, we begin by listening to your body and cultivating a relationship with it. Getting to know your body on a deeper level and your full range of feelings, is getting to know you and what really matters to you. It may feel daunting or strange, but I assure you it is one of the most rewarding processes towards truly enjoying your body and food.

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.

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.

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.

I work with people who have previously received treatment for eating disorders and want to maintain or further their recovery. Because we need to eat to survive, we are confronted with our relationship to food every day. Deeper work on how our thoughts and emotions become represented in our bodies and food can bring an understanding of the reasons behind an eating disorder, as well as help discover new ways to manage it. I believe the way we relate to our bodies, our sustenance, and ourselves can be understood more deeply in order to live with greater compassion, acceptance, and confidence.

Do you find yourself eating for no particular reason? Do you prefer to eat in private? Food carries with it many powerful symbols. It can be used to nurture, comfort, and strengthen. It can also be used to control, punish, shame as well as suppress our feelings. Like any other addiction, food can be used to disconnect us from our intuition and alienate us from ourselves and others. Therapy is an ideal place to explore issues and feelings around food.

I work with compulsive/emotional eaters to get to an understanding of what feelings are hiding underneath the eating behavior. Knowing about the feelings and finding other ways to deal with them is key to stopping the compulsive eating. In Compulsive Eating workshops, I use Geneen Roth's anti-dieting approach. This is about using certain behavioral tools to change eating habits. For example, not eating in the car or not eating standing up. Each person's journey through this struggle is unique and I will offer you my guidance and understanding as well as a sociological approach to how the diet and fashion industries brainwash women into hating their bodies.

I help my clients to understand how their eating disorder symptoms are attempts to communicate internal conflicts and get unmet relational needs met in a safe way. I help them express these hidden struggles and conflicts and the emotions connected to them and get their emotional needs met so that they can learn to let go of these behaviors that are on longer serving them.

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.