Eating Disorder Therapy
An eating disorder is a serious mental health condition that involves an unhealthy obsession with eating, exercise or body shape.
Most eating disorders involve focusing too much on weight, body shape and food. This can lead to dangerous eating behaviours. These behaviours can seriously affect the ability to get the nutrition your body needs. Eating disorders can harm the heart, digestive system, bones, teeth and mouth. They can lead to other diseases. They’re also linked with depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts and behaviours.
What Are the Symptoms of Eating Disorders?
It’s not always easy to tell if someone has an eating disorder. Some of the symptoms linked with eating disorders are:
- Concern about your appearance, food and gaining weight
- Extreme dissatisfaction with your body — you would like to lose weight even though friends or family think that you are underweight
- A fear of gaining weight
- You let people around you think you have eaten when you haven’t
- You are secretive about your eating habits because you know they are unhealthy
- Eating makes you feel anxious, upset or guilty
- You feel you are not in control around food
- You keep checking your body — for example, weighing yourself or pinching your waist
- Making yourself vomit or using laxatives in order to lose weight
What Are the Common Types of Eating Disorder?
There are many types of eating disorder, including the following:
Binge eating disorder (BED) BED makes up almost half of all cases of eating disorders in Australia. People with this disorder will often eat large amounts of food, even when they aren’t hungry. This is known as ‘binging’. They often feel shame and guilt after an eating binge. Often people with binge eating disorder will fast or go on a diet in response to the way they feel after a binge. However, people with BED don’t purge (vomit) their food.
Bulimia nervosa People with bulimia have frequent eating binges. These often occur in secret. They then get rid of the food by vomiting (being sick), taking laxatives or diet pills. This is known as ‘purging’. Bulimia nervosa often begins during or after a diet. People with bulimia often feel out of control. About 12% of people with eating disorders have bulimia nervosa.
Anorexia nervosa People with anorexia nervosa can be severely underweight, are preoccupied with food and fear putting on weight. They often have a distorted body image and see themselves as fat. Changes happen in the brain due to starvation and malnutrition. This can make it hard for someone with anorexia nervosa to recognise that they are unwell. They may also struggle to understand the impact of their condition.
Other specified feeding or eating disorder A person with other specified feeding or eating disorder (OSFED) has many of the signs of other eating disorders. But their condition doesn’t match a specific disorder.
Eating Disorders Treatments
CBT-E is the abbreviation for “enhanced cognitive behaviour therapy”, is one of the most effective treatments for eating disorders. It is a “transdiagnostic” treatment for all forms of eating disorder including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder and other similar states.
CBT-E employs a variety of techniques, with treatment interventions focused on three key areas:
Psychoeducation and motivation: Psychoeducation and motivation techniques focus on empowering you to fully understand the ins and outs of your eating disorder, and the ways it is manifesting in your mind, body, and life.
Cognitive: Cognitive techniques work by helping you to identify and gradually address any thinking patterns you currently have, which may be unhelpful and keeping you stuck. Individuals with eating disorders often live with a variety of unhelpful cognitive patterns which influence the way they see themselves, their bodies, and their lives, these patterns can be successfully addressed and worked through in individual therapy.
Behavioural: Behavioural techniques are used to assist you in making gradual, valued, and lasting changes in the life areas that are most important to you. If you have an eating disorder, it is likely that food, eating, exercise and body image have taken up a big chunk of your life, leaving little space for anything else. Behavioural techniques will support you to find more balance and fulfillment across all areas of your life. These techniques will also work to support you in letting go of any behaviours that have been causing you more harm than good, and in adopting new behaviours which are likely to contribute to a richer, fuller, and more meaningful life in the long run.
Online Eating Disorder Counselling & Therapy | Adelaide Psychologists & Therapists
We are trained in Enhanced Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. We are also at Sehat Psychology, Beck Institute CBT Certified Clinicians that demonstrate our expertise in the most evidence-based psychotherapy treatment. You can contact us on (08) 7079 9529 or email admin@sehatpsychology.com.au to book an appointment (telehealth or face to face) with our eating disorder therapist.
Adelaide Psychology Clinic | Eating Disorder Psychologists & Therapists
Our treatment team of therapists stands out as being expert in the field of enhanced cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT-E), a proven and effective approach for treating eating disorder. With extensive experience and a deep understanding of the complexities of psychological issues, our clinic is committed to guiding you through your journey to emotional well-being.