How to Support a Friend with ARFID

Supporting a friend with ARFID in California [Image description: a woman with her hand on the shoulder of another woman who appears distressed] Represents a potential client getting help for ARFID in California

Maybe you have a friend or coworker who is struggles to eat enough for reasons other than body image–or who eats differently. This struggle to eat or eating difference may be something more than a quirk, but something known as ARFID. It may be frustrating to try to have meals with them, especially if you …

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Meet Eating Disorder Therapy LA’s Postdoctoral Fellows

Training eating disorder staff and graduate students in eating disorder therapy in Los Angeles, California [Image description: photo of Dr. Muhlheim using the white board to train other eating disorder therapists]

Eating Disorder Therapy LA provides training and supervision to prelicensed psychologists pursuing licensure in the state of California. Our postdoctoral fellows serve as part- or full-time employee therapists. Under the supervision of our licensed psychologists, they provide individual, group, and family therapy. Our postdoctoral fellows are supervised by Lauren Muhlheim, Psy.D., CEDS-S, and Elisha Carcieri, …

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Why We Recommend Six Months of Demonstrated Readiness Before College

College Students in California [Image description: photo of 2 young woman and a young man walking on a college campus] Represents potential college students who have overcome eating disorders

College readiness for students with eating disorders is a topic that comes up frequently. Learn more about why we encourage a potential college student to demonstrate six months of recovery (versus a shorter time frame). Our Eating Disorder College Readiness Guide and Checklist In our oft-cited Eating Disorder College Readiness Guide and blog, we strongly …

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College Weight Gain: Don’t Fear The Freshman 15!

College Weight Gain in California [image description: 2 young women eating pizza joyfully with other snacks around] depicts potential college students in California who are not afraid of the Freshman 15

Let’s not fear college weight gain—let’s normalize it! College students throughout the US are heading off to their first year of college. Most are excited and also a little anxious. Among the common worries: Will I get along with my roommate? Will I make friends? Will I be able to keep up with the academics? …

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Orthorexia

Post by Carly Poynter, MA, previous staff therapist What is Orthorexia? Orthorexia is an eating disorder in which an individual is fixated on the quality of food and avoidance—in the pursuit of health—of foods labeled as “unhealthy” or “bad”. The person continues to pursue “health” despite experiencing considerable negative health consequences and an impact on …

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Feeding a Child with ARFID and a Narrow Range of Foods

Feeding a Child with ARFID in Los Angeles, California [Image description: photo of a girl eating broccoli and rice and looking unhappy] Represents a child with ARFID in therapy in California

Helping a Child with ARFID to Eat Feeding a child with ARFID is challenging and most parents are not adequately prepared. Children with ARFID are not just “picky eaters” and may not respond the same way as other children. Well-meaning advice you may have received—such as, “They will eat when they are hungry,”—often does not …

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What is Diabulimia?

Diabulimia in Los Angeles, California [Image description: photo of purple scrabble tiles spelling "diabulimia"]

By Carly Poynter, AMFT Diabulimia is the combination of diabetes—“dia”—and “bulimia.” While diabulimia is not a medical diagnosis, this term describes the comorbid diagnosis of an eating disorder and type-1 diabetes. Medical provider refer to diabulimia as ED-DMTI. Type 1 diabetes is a medical condition—an autoimmune disease. In type 1 diabetes (T1D), the immune system …

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Help for Night Eating Syndrome

Help for night eating syndrome in Los Angeles, California [Image description: drawing of a person standing near a refrigerator and the moon is in the background] Represents a potential person with night eating syndrome seeking counseling in Los Angeles, California

Do you find yourself eating late into the night? Do you wake up and eat large meals before going back to sleep? Have you wondered whether this is an eating disorder? Read on to learn more about the problem and how we can help. What is Night Eating Syndrome? Night Eating Syndrome (NES) is a …

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Return to Exercise and Eating Disorder Recovery in Teens During FBT

Return to exercising during FBT for teen eating disorders [Image description: drawing of a teen running on a treadmill] Represents a potential teen undergoing FBT for an eating disorder in Los Angeles, California

Excessive exercise is often a component of various eating disorders, including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, atypical anorexia, OSFED, and subclinical eating disorders. It is a symptom that affects up to 80% of those with an eating disorder (Quesnel et al., 2023). By expending energy, exercise may contribute to the negative energy balance that may trigger …

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