Find An Eating Disorder Therapist in River Heights, Winnipeg, MB.

I have worked with both men and women who have struggled with eating disorders, whether it is anorexia, bulimia, overeating, body issues, or any issue with food that has had a negative affect on life. I believe that early intervention is best. I recognize that individuals with eating disorders are often sensitive, and usually have deep past wounds or thinking issues. I believe in working with this population with both sensitivity and boldness.

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.

To be human is to need a sense of control. No one should be left out of their own life, told how or who to be, and then live with constant distortions or confusion about themselves. When, when and how one manages food is a personal matter and must be treated with dignity and respect. Recovery from a chronic or acute eating disorder requires an excellent connection with the therapist, and an ongoing commitment to journey together toward sustained health.

Having an eating disorder can be so very isolating and it can be difficult to work through without support. There can be so much shame and secrecy and guilt attached to having an eating disorder. Living with an eating disorder makes it so difficult to be with and trust the body you live in. I have worked at the Women’s Health Clinic for many years - which is a place which specializes in eating disorders and body image. Counselling can be very beneficial in understanding where this way of living in your body has come from - how it relates to coping with difficult emotions and how to create new ways of living in and with your body.

Eating Disorders, is without a doubt, a very complex group of disorders. The underlying theme however is the same for all; that is, taking control of one aspect life where one is able to see and feel quite drastic changes, quickly. For anorexia it stems from strict denial of calories. For Bulimia Nervosa, ridding your body of calories after ingestion. The drive and will power to do either often comes about when there is no self-love, self-esteem, confidence, or self-worth. The insecurities about their daily decisions haunts them, and therefore turn towards controlling this aspect of their lives. My job is to guide them towards the root cause of the insecurities regain their self-worth.

The causes of eating disorders is multi facetted and complex as is the treatment of Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia Nervosa, and Binge Eating Disorder. Using a trauma lens, my approach emphasizes weight neutrality, body acceptance, Health at Every Size (HAES) that utilizes the Set Weight Theory. Along with this, my approach includes a combination of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness, Exposure Therapy and Exposure and Response Prevention and is designed based upon symptoms that are presenting (OCD, Depression, Anxiety, Personality traits, Addictions).

This is a disorder that strikes fear and dread into the hearts of parents and into the lives of all who suffer from its effects. After many years and clients struggling with this disorder, I have come to recognize the best strategies and healing techniques to undermine the power of this sometimes overwhelming condition and bring emotional and physical healing.

Our relationship with food, a necessity of life, can be fraught with internal conflict, particularly when coupled with the nuances of our own self concept, the vulnerability to societal expectations, and the epidemic of feeling powerless or voiceless in our lives. I work with clients to begin to define the relationship-with food, with body, with self. And to support small but continual shifts, in a way that both respects the valid payoffs of maintaining this relationship as is, while also acknowledging the need for change and growth.

Whether you have been struggling with dysfunctional eating for a few months, or had an eating disorder for years, you know how it can control your life and rob you of energy, focus, health, money, and relationships. Your eating disorder likely began as a way of coping with other life stresses like depression, abuse, or relationship problems. In counselling, we will explore how your particular disorder developed, the role it has played in your life, and work together to give you new ways of living. Counselling will include resolving hurts and difficulties of the past, developing new ways of relating to food, working on better body image and self-esteem, and building up your support system.

Working in conjunction with your medical professionals, I can support you in helping you understand the roots of your eating disorder, understand your progress through stages of change, and provide you with unconditional support and understanding. Using mindfulness and resources in dialectical behavioral therapy, I will support you in setting goals for shifting your patterns around body image and food.

For many, eating disorders serve as a means to cope with pressures in life that are believed to be beyond their ability to cope. There is no single cause for an eating disorder. Risk factors can include negative body image, low self-esteem, disconnection from others, disallowed self-expression, preoccupation with food, and/or unrealistic family expectations. In therapy, you will begin to identify underlying issues that maintain eating disorders and gain awareness of your strengths and ability to cope, increasing self-esteem and hope.

Trained as a Marriage and Family therapist, I work with individuals who are experiencing the impact of a fat-shaming society. Together we will challenge these mainstream views and work on creating a new narrative on how we feel about ourselves. I bring a body positive and health at every size lens to my work, and together we will explore your relationship with your self and identify what parts are in need of nurturing.

Self acceptance is so much at the centre of many of our struggles, and I find this particularly true with eating disorders. The battle to accept ourselves as we are, to feel good in our own skin, is as central to recovery as one's relationship with food itself. I work with both the inner struggle to self accept, as well as the related manifestation of disorder.

Dr. Don Russell understands that disordered eating is a struggle for the whole family. It's roots are deep and just trying harder will not bring lasting success. Dr. Russell has the patience, commitment and skill to bring about lasting change. If you, or a loved one is ready to change a problematic pattern of eating give Dr.Russell a call and begin a journal towards freedom, healing and LIFE.