Virtual therapy for eating disorders

I help those who have eating and body image difficulties. Eating disorder recovery is a challenging road for the affected individual, as well as their family and friends. It takes specialist support, expert knowledge, understanding, and compassion to reach recovery. I offer this in all my therapy services.

My training as an occupational therapist gives me a unique approach to eating disorder therapy, focusing on the practical application of skills to daily life. While always keeping in mind the psychology of those who struggle with eating difficulties, I also understand our sensory systems – how they affect our ability to self-regulate and cope with distress. I work with people through their sensory systems to teach them how to self-soothe, manage anxiety, and tolerate difficult sensations (like fullness after a meal).

I also practice psychotherapy, using talk therapy to help clients become more aware of their thoughts and how they affect their emotions and behaviour. We delve into their core beliefs about themselves and food, and work to “debunk” the thinking that keeps the eating disorder going. For most people, balancing talk therapy and occupational therapy with sensory work is very effective.

Although you don’t need a diagnosis to work with me, some diagnoses that I commonly work with are:

I also work with those who are at risk of developing an eating disorder, who have shown early signs of disordered eating, and who have a preoccupation with their appearance and weight, as well as those who do not fall into a formal diagnosis but are struggling with:

  • dieting

  • food restriction

  • emotional eating

  • excessive exercising

  • under exercising

  • obsessive rituals around food and eating

  • a preoccupation with “clean eating”

  • low self-esteem and body confidence

  • developing a healthy relationship with food

Read more about the role of occupational therapy for eating disorders here.

Specialist Eating Disorder Services

  • Occupational Therapy with Psychotherapy

    Using talk therapy and embodied approaches while working towards practical and achievable goals (occupational therapy). This usually includes work around self-esteem, body image, core beliefs, behaviour change, inner motivation, relationship to food, and healthy movement.

  • Sensory Strategies

    Exploration using a sensory approach to calming the nervous system, organizing emotions and tolerating uncomfortable sensations. After an initial assessment, we explore your unique sensory profile and find sensory modulation strategies that work for you. In 4-5 sessions, you’ll come away with insight into how your sensory systems work and a customized toolkit to take with you.

  • CBT-E

    Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for eating disorders (CBT-E) is a psychotherapy approach with a strong evidence base for older adolescents and adults. There are a minimum of 20 sessions over 20 weeks, although there may be 40 sessions over 40 weeks if the client is extremely underweight. Please read more about the session structure and duration here.

  • For Neurodivergent Individuals

    While all of my services are neurodiversity-affirming, I specifically work with those on the autism spectrum or consider themselves neurodivergent, and who are struggling with food and body image difficulties. We often do a lot of sensory and self-regulation work, creating healthy routines, negotiating social interactions, and practicing how to manage change.

  • Meal Support

    I know mealtimes can be difficult. I offer specialized support for individuals while they eat. This typically involves developing strategies, anxiety management (before, during and after meals), and can be done over the video or phone from home, work or school (if appropriate).

  • Waitlist Service

    Waitlists to get into a public service / program can be long. I provide eating disorder therapy in the meantime, with the aim of avoiding the need for a hospital admission. I also work to increase “readiness for change” to help prepare those who are resistant to therapy, which often leads to better outcomes.

  • Parent Consultations

    For those with teenagers, I require both an Initial Session for them and also an Initial Parent(s’) Session with the caregivers (separately) in order to gather enough information before I start the work. For clients who are children, I usually work through a parent coaching model; sessions (virtual) are with the parent(s), who then implement strategies with their children in the home. These are usually a mix of 50-minute and 25-minute sessions.

    I am often asked by parents, “What can I do?” and “How do I cope? I offer as-needed therapy and consultations to help parents navigate the healthcare system (in Canada), provide advice on what to do next, help navigate mealtimes and difficult behaviour, and offer insight into what your teenager is going through so you can better understand how to help them.

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