The Reality of Bariatric Surgery: A Life-Changing Procedure with Potential for Eating Problems

By Dr. Elisha Carcieri, Ph.D., Psychologist at Eating Disorder Therapy LA Approximately 200,000 people elect to undergo bariatric surgery each year. Many are encouraged by their doctors to undergo surgery with the hope of improving physical health outcomes like diabetes, and many are hoping that this will be the final answer to a lifetime struggle …

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Is Your Young Adult with an Eating Disorder Ready for College?

Is My Young Adult With an Eating Disorder Ready for College?

College Readiness When Your Child Has an Eating Disorder How do you know whether your child with an eating disorder is ready for college? Sending a child to college usually raises anxiety for most parents. And you may have even more anxiety if your young adult has or has struggled with an eating disorder. Dr. …

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Recommended Reading & Resources

Recommended reading and Resources for Eating Disorders in Los Angeles, California [Image description: photo of a woman reading a book in front of a window] Represents a potential client seeking treatment for an eating disorders in Los Angeles, California

We usually recommend some form of reading to supplement therapy and facilitate progress. The following books, podcasts, and resources, curated over many years, have been helpful to many of our clients. General Resources Cognitive Therapy Mind Over Mood: Change How You Feel by Changing the Way You Think, Dennis Greenberger, Ph.D. and Christine Padesky, Ph.D., …

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About Us

Eating Disorder Therapy LA therapists in California provide counseling to adults and teens in California [image description: 7 therapists smiling]

Outpatient Eating Disorder Practice Eating Disorder Therapy LA is a specialized outpatient eating disorder practice in the heart of Los Angeles. Under the direction of Lauren Muhlheim, Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist and Certified Eating Disorder Specialist, we offer psychotherapy at the outpatient level. This means we provide individual or family psychotherapy, usually once per week. You …

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Look before you leap: Binge Eating Disorder, Vyvanse, and Evidence-Based Psychotherapies

Vyvanse medication for Binge Eating Disorder in Los Angeles, CA [Image description: drawing of 2 pills outside of a prescription pill bottle, representing potential Vyvanse for a patient with Binge Eating Disorder in California]

Learn Why Therapy is Superior to Medication for The Treatment of Binge Eating Disorder by Elisha M. Carcieri, Ph.D., Psychologist, and staff therapist Binge eating disorder (BED) made headlines when the FDA approved lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (Vyvanse) for the treatment of BED. So, what is BED, how is it treated, and what does this treatment option mean …

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Mindful Eating

The definition of binge eating is “the consumption of large amounts of food associated with a feeling of loss of control over eating.”  Individuals who binge eat describe the experience as almost dissociative.  They are frantically eating large amounts of food which they are barely tasting.  They feel unable to stop until they are uncomfortably …

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How Much Food to Feed?

Family having dinner and unhappy in FBT [Image description: family of 2 adults and two kids and the teen girl looks very unhappy about eating] Represents a potential family in California doing FBT for their teen's eating disorder

In Family-Based Treatment (FBT), we charge families with nourishing their teens back to health through meals at home. Because FBT is a parent empowerment model, parents are often given little specific guidance about how to do this. If you are like other families with whom I’ve worked, now that you understand this important point, you …

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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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Eating Disorder Relapse Prevention Worksheet

Eating Disorder Recovery Journey [Image description: drawing of a happy woman driving in a purple car] Represents a client in eating disorder recovery in Los Angeles, California

Relapse Prevention Plan A relapse prevention plan is an important tool for maintaining recovery. Complete this worksheet created by EDTLA’s therapist, Carly Poynter, MA. Recovering from an eating disorder takes time. You did not develop your eating disorder overnight and it will not go away that quickly either. It is important to remember that recovery …

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Shopping While Fat

Sharon Maxwell shopping while fat in recovery in Los Angeles, California [Image description: photo of a happy fat woman holding clothing at the Plus Bus in Los Angeles, CA]

Shopping While Fat–And Recovering by Sharon Maxwell, Practice Manager Growing up, I loved the concept of shopping. But as a fat person, I rarely actually enjoyed it. It wasn’t that I didn’t like shopping or finding new things. However, an invitation to go shopping with friends meant that the message that my body was intrinsically …

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