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As I’ve talked about in depth, the transition to college away from home is challenging for most young adults. It is especially fraught for young adults with eating disorders. In that article, I provided a College Readiness Checklist for students who are either considering their first move away from home after a history of …
by Carolyn Comas, LCSW With the global COVID-19 pandemic shutting down not only towns and states but entire countries, our world has entered into an abnormal time. The lives of everyone have been interrupted and disrupted by a virus that can have devastating effects. During this time many people are reporting feeling levels of heightened …
Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, our therapists were delivering FBT by telehealth. We continue to do so. One of the most significant impacts of social distancing was a change in the mode of delivery of psychological treatment. Most outpatient therapists, dietitians, and medical doctors moved entirely to telehealth sessions (over the computer). Even many …
Family-Based Treatment (FBT) is the leading evidence-based treatment for adolescents with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. One of the common misbeliefs I hear is that it’s “only for kids or younger teens.” However, I think it has a much wider applicability. In fact, I would say that my FBT training has significantly improved my …
“People are concerned about the fact that I’m a therapist and have an eating disorder, and I’m like, ‘You’re concerned about me? I’m concerned about our entire fucking field.’” — Shira Rose, FoodPsych with Christy Harrison This quote has generated a lot of reactions. In this podcast, Shira—who lives in a larger body when she …
by Carolyn Hersh, LCSW On September 18th, 2019 Instagram instituted an official policy that all ads promoting diet and weight loss products would only be able to be viewed by users 18 and over. Any ads that have false claims can be reported and subject to removal. This is a huge victory in the world …
Have you been tracking your food via a calorie-counting app? Maybe you’ve been tracking your exercise through a wearable or other system. Did you know such tracking: May encourage a disordered relationship with food and your body? May actually be jeopardizing your health rather than helping you to monitor it? If you’ve noticed that you’re …
By Carolyn Hersh, LCSW, CEDS-S Clinical Supervisor A difficult concept in recovery is knowing when to let go of an activity or even a job that could potentially re-ignite the eating disorder. As a therapist I find myself guiding my clients toward the realization that the sport or career path they had loved so much …
For many of my patients who have firmly joined the anti-diet camp and embraced a Health at Every Size® (HAES) approach to health, dealing with family members entrenched in diet culture can be a minefield that is tough to navigate. Let me say that I get it! I also have friends and family members who …
One of the cardinal rules of dieting is “Eat only when you’re hungry.” I often find that the fear of eating when not hungry is one of the most difficult bits of dogma to overcome. People with eating disorders and good dieters everywhere have been taught that this is all that stands in the way …